MANILA, Philippines - The event was dubbed "Million People March at Ayala" in anticipation of what could be the biggest anti-pork barrel rally thus far.
But only an estimated 2,600 people gathered at the intersection of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Avenue at the heart of Makati’s business district yesterday to denounce the pork barrel system.
The crowd from various political and cause-oriented groups gathered near the statue of the late senator Benigno Aquino and called for a minimum of three-month tax holiday while the pork barrel scam is being probed.
“Every pay day, almost 15-25 percent painful cut in the hard-earned salary of employees and workers, which are taxes that are supposed to be provided for social services and education of the people. The funds should be used by the government for the upliftment of the condition of the Filipino people. We will not sit back amidst this evident corruption and plunder of the people’s money,” said Raymond Palatino, of the ScrapThePork Alliance.
Call center agents, who attended the rally and members of the BPO Industry Employees’ Network or BIEN, also expressed their disgust over the pork barrel system.
“Contributing $13 billion worth of revenues to the national economy, we are dismayed to find out that a huge section of that revenue only goes to the pockets of big bureaucrats. We are disgusted that the government is quick to take away our hard-earned income and is just as quick in funnelling our income to the lavish lifestyles of politicians. We go through sleepless nights, endure dangers in going to work in the wee hours of the morning, and sacrifice time with our family for our work,” said Ian Porquia, BIEN president.
During a short gathering in front of the Philippine Stocks Exchange in Makati yesterday, the #taxholidayvspork Network spearheaded by #ScrapThePork Alliance and the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN), encouraged everyone to stand up against the pork barrel system.
Participants wore pink shirts and ribbons and blew out whistles to voice out their call for a tax holiday and pork abolition. They also gathered signatures from Makati employees.
Organizers said they would renew their call to scrap all pork barrel funds, including the DAP of the Department of Budget and Management.
Patricia Tan, spokesperson of the Scrap Pork Network, said the DAP is a form of pork barrel because of the discretionary power given to President Aquino and lawmakers over the fund.
During the march, the protestters paraded an eight-foot tall golden pig effigy which police did not allow to be burned.
Manila Auxilliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who represented the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, also called for the scrapping of the pork barrel system.
“That (DAP) is also pork barrel which is being used by the government to bribe lawmakers to support them,” Pabillo said.
Junep Ocampo, one of the key organizers of the march also lashed at the apprent move to just rename the priority development assitance fund (PDAF) into the DAP.
Ocampo also criticized President Aquino for not voluntarily removing his “Super Pork” which allegedly amounted to P1.4 trillion.
Groups join protests
Various labor groups yesterday joined the Million People March Part 2 in Ayala, Makati City to raise their voices against pork barrel and patronage politics.
Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) chair Renato Magtubo said billions of pesos in taxes are being collected from workers, but funds are “just being appropriated by corrupt politicians among themselves.”
Magtubo said contrary to Malacañang’s pronouncement, the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is a stimulant for “miscarriage” and not for “growth” since its implementation is worse than the Priority Development Assistance Fund.
“The best thing it achieved was boost the spending spree or personal savings of politicians, not the purchasing power of ordinary workers,” he said.
The PM is seeking the abolition of pork barrel and the rechanneling of funds to universal social protection such as healthcare, mass housing, public education, employment, climate programs, and other services.
For its part, Migrante International said the DAP “clearly, categorically and conclusively” exposed Malacañang’s gross abuse and misuse of public funds for political patronage.
“That’s more than a hundred billion pesos at the President’s discretion. DAP is plainly pork by another name. Combined with the P1.3-trillion presidential pork, President Aquino should really be called the ‘pork barrel king”’ said Migrante spokesman Mic Catuira.
He said workers are once again mulling another “zero remittance day” in view of the DAP controversy.
‘Continue rallies’
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago called on the people to continue exerting pressure on Congress with its rallies until a decision is made to remove the entire P25.4 billion intended for the pork barrel fund in the proposed 2014 national budget.
“At the rate the country is going with its scandals over graft and corruption in government, there is a strong possibility of it becoming a ‘failed state’,” Santiago said.
“State failure can be caused by rampant corruption, predatory elites who have long manipulated power, and an absence of the rule of law,” Santiago said in a speech at the Colegio de Sta. Rosa in Makati City yesterday.
“Political scientists have concluded that state collapse does not occur spontaneously. It is likely that complex and conflict-ridden processes of deterioration and an erosion of state function precedes state collapse.”
Santiago noted that the pork barrel scam, the controversy over the fund releases associated with the DAP and the alleged misuse of the Malampaya fund have all contributed to the current state of the nation, which she said is headed towards “a state collapse.” (From Philstar.com)