Why we must march again #MillionPeopleMarch

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On Oct. 4, 2013, we go out anew to march. We march again to respond to the urgent need to tell President Aquino and all government officials: The discretionary, lumpsum, wasteful, whimsical and capricious system of spending public funds – pork barrel system – must go.

Perhaps there is no better example of this senseless, irresponsible and corrupt pork barrel system than President Aquino’s own DAP. It did not come with authority of Congress and was concocted by the Office of the President and the Department of Budget and Management. They said it is about pump-priming the economy, but the release was timed during or after political efforts of the Aquino administration to punish one of its enemies. The naked and shameless use of public funds in such a corrupt manner is a slap on the face of every hardworking Filipino citizen who worked so that government would have money to serve the public and not serve narrow political ends.

We must march to demand the abolition of President Aquino’s DAP, urge full disclosure and stop the use of public funds for patronage and corruption between Malacanang and both houses of Congress.

And then, there’s the PDAF. It was never about helping poor but deserving students or indigent patients or underfunded towns and agencies. Yes, there are corruption-free instances of PDAF use, but they are tiny exceptions in a general picture of abuse and misuse. As a rule, PDAF was about the President getting favors from legislators in exchange for the release of PDAF funds, and legislators dispensing public funds as if they come from their own pocket – complete with Epal billboards and steamers to remind everyone of their kindness and compassion.

If Malacanang, the House and the Senate are serious in providing adequate social services to students and patients, and sufficient funding for towns and agencies, the way forward is to get rid of PDAF and directly allocate public funds to the nation’s state colleges and universities, public hospitals and municipalities. In so doing, we will minimize the rise of a new Janet Napoles and her cabal of fake NGOs. In so doing, we will put a disincentive for any lawmaker to commit plunder or conspiracy to commit plunder of precious public funds.

We must march because the Aquino administration – which portrays itself as incorruptible and as God’s gift to our country – stubbornly and arrogantly refuses to abolish this corrupt pork barrel system.

Not only that, the Aquino administration has been deliberately deceiving the public about the existence of more than a trillion pesos of discretionary funds for the Office of the President, on top of the recently-exposed DAP.

We must march because the Aquino administration is attempting vainly to hijack the abolish pork movement in so many ways. First, it pretends to be against pork when it is the single biggest holder of pork barrel funds and it refuses to admit they exist. Second, the Aquino administration pretends to abolish the PDAF only to give it a new name and process. Third, the Aquino administration pretends it is not accountable for the apparently unconstitutional and corrupt DAP used to bribe lawmakers to do Malacanang’s bidding.

We must march because we have nothing to lose. It is the Aquino administration, the ruling Liberal Party, and the leaderships of the House and the senate who are scared of the abolition of the pork barrel system. They will fight for it and they have done so with double-talk, duplicity and outright kapalmuks explanations. Let us march to tell them: Keep your sticky, slimy hands off public funds.

We must march too to demand full disclosure, accountability and transparency. Yes, Napoles and her cohorts must be put to trial. And yes, ALL those involved in any form of corruption of public funds, using pork barrel funds under whatever name (DAP, PDAF, presidential social fund, presidential emergency fund) must be brought to court, explain themselves and, if found guilty, bear the punishment for their violations of public trust.

Of course, they could do the honorable thing by leaving their positions and let other clean, competent Filipinos take their place. We leave this up to them, if they still have a milligram of delicadeza or respect for citizens and the Constitution.

We must take note of President Aquino’s dare that he is open to be impeached. Mr. Aquino could comfortably play around with the idea of impeachment because his ruling Liberal Party dominates the House and the Senate, and he has control of pork barrel funds to unleash on Congress. This false bravado is another display of haciendero kayabangan. He obviously misses the point about the fight to abolish the pork barrel system.

We must march because we have everything to gain, if we remain vigilant and resolute about the kind of change in how the government handles public funding and public spending. If we get rid of all forms of pork barrel spending, we must fight for smarter, pro-Filipino ways of allocating our public funds: Adequate funding and no cuts for public schools and public hospitals. No poor but deserving student should be turned away by any state college or university; and no indigent patient should be made to beg for medical assistance just to avail of services at our public hospitals.

Pump-priming the economy through massive infrastructure projects like the upgrading of all major airports and seaports, improved flood control systems, improved disaster preparedness systems, better, wider and longer national highways, and the building of mass transport systems. Funding must come directly from the national budget and not from the personal whim or “kindness” of any lawmaker or even the President.

These are big words and big objectives. But many have a full and abiding trust in ourselves as Filipinos that we could achieve them through unity and action. We move this economy forward. Our overseas kababayans sacrifice every day to help prop up the economy. Our parents have done their part. Our kids deserve a better country when they grow up.

We must march again on Oct. 4 to remind ourselves of this great project of building our country by getting back to citizens the control over public funds. It would take more marches to attain our objectives, maybe in the future even barricades, national strikes and civil disobedience – especially if the corrupt system refuses to heed our just demands. We have marched on Sept. 11 EDSA Tayo, Sept. 13 Forward March and Sept. 21 Never Porkget. Overseas, our kababayans have waged Zero-Remittance Days and are preparing for more.

Our forward march continues because our cause is just, our calls legitimate and our aspirations unite the majority of our fellow citizens.

Victory belongs to citizens who never give up, who always come together to unite, and reject and oppose the avalanche of lies that try to cover up and prettify the very bad situation we all wish to change.

Note: I’m a member of the Abolish Pork Movement. Join us and sign the movement’s unity statement here.