“We share insights on the role of, and implications on, women in our collective advocacy to end the pork barrel, a very critical issue that our modern Philippine society is reckoning… If only we can expand our perspectives and solidify our ranks in our fight against structural violence and bad governance affecting our women and the most marginalized.”
This was the welcome statement of Dr. Weena Gera, coordinator of the UP Cebu Gad Office at a Public Forum on “Ang Kababayen-an ug ang Pagwagtang sa Pork Barrel.” The forum was a meaningful way of celebrating the 11th anniversary of Sidlak Gender Resource Center-UP Cebu on October 1 organized by Sidlak Coordinator, Dr. Rhodora M. Bucoy and the GAD UP Cebu staff.
Prof. Henry Francis Espiritu, coordinator of the Political Science program, expounded on the rationale of the public forum. He stressed that we are one with the sovereign people from all walks of life and across any gender and ideological divide, in their rightful demand for the abolition of the pork barrel and all forms of bureaucratic corruption by forcing public accountability of our elective and appointive officials in both lower and higher echelons of public office.
Women are the end-losers in a corruption-driven and capitalist-oriented government. Aside from being mothers and household managers, women struggle to provide the daily economic livelihood for the survival of their families. Filipino women are directly affected by governmental negligence, institutional absence of economic opportunities, lack of social mobility and corrupt government practices since women double as pillars of the home as well as workers/career ladies in both formal and informal sectors of our economy.
He also noted the depressing situation of the poorest of the poor which includes women in the slum areas, urban poor women, peasant women in the barrios, the Bangsamoro women struggling to be heard in the midst of the precarious peace and order situation in Mindanao and the extremely marginalized women among the Indigenous Peoples or Lumads.
The forum aimed to shed light on the interrelationships between the pro-active struggle against all forms of corruption and our strong advocacy for the Filipino women’s integral liberation from all forms of social, political, economic and household oppression. These are best done by replacing this inequitable setup with a woman-oriented politics of care, nurturance, personal and public accountability, gender-fairness and egalitarianism.
Dr. Judy M. Taguiwalo, director of the UP Center for Women’s Studies was the main resource person. She discussed “Why Women Are in the Forefront of the Abolish the Pork Movement and in the People’s Initiative Against Pork”.
She started by profiling the Filipino women as comprising half of the population but majority are poor and powerless. She highlighted women’s vulnerability and powerlessness: vulnerability to violence against women; unemployment and lack of education; multiple burdens as gender roles demand women to be nurturers, caregivers and home managers on top of productive or paid work; lack of control over one’s body and lack of access to information and facilities to ensure reproductive health.
Basic services with regards to land reform, housing, education, and health have been deprived of budget. She explained why the pork barrel is inherently anomalous as a source of graft and corruption. It distorts budgetary needs and processes. Pork is patronage politics where public funds are given to allies and voters and withheld from political enemies.
There was a detailed picture of the sources of the pork barrel, the congressional pork from 2002 to 2013. She also discussed why this is unconstitutional. Legislators cannot exercise executive functions such as project implementation. Legislators cannot individually exercise the power of appropriation, on checks and balances.
Lump sums diminish the item veto power of the president. They dilute accountability mechanisms. Pork diminishes local autonomy and equitable funding for LGUs. Legislators can simply bypass local development councils. She showed a Power point slides of the pork allocation per House Member as well as the Senate Pork, and the formal and informal practices in accessing congressional pork. It was revealed that the fattest, biggest chunk was presidential pork.
It featured the special purpose funds and the unprogrammed funds from 2002 to 2013, the proposed special purpose funds for 2015 and the proposed unprogrammed funds for 2015. The total lump sums in 2015 reach P501 billion.
Why sign a petition?
Taguiwalo invoked Art. II, Sec. 28 of the Constitution: “The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption”.
There’s Rep. Act No. 6735 – An act providing for a system of initiative and referendum and appropriating funds therefore. Under Art. VI, Sec. 32 – “The Congress shall, as early as possible, provide for a system of initiative and referendum, and the exceptions therefrom, whereby the people can directly propose and exact laws or approve.”
Then there’s the People’s Initiative Against Pork Barrel where citizens can directly legislate an act abolishing the pork barrel system.