The pork stays and it’s a whopping P27 billion in the Aquino administration’s proposed P2.268-trillion national budget for next year. Unfazed by the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam, the executive branch still opted to include the regular allocation for the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). “Unlike in the past when only the ‘soft’ portion was in the budget and the ‘hard’ portion was tucked in” in government agencies, the new budget proposal shows the “whole and complete PDAF,” said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. Soft refers to projects involving social services; hard involves infrastructure projects. “The P27-billion PDAF is provided and that is a special line item for PDAF in this budget,” Abad said when he submitted the national expenditure program to the House of Representatives on Tuesday. However, Malacañang is considering measures that would subject nongovernment organizations (NGOs) implementing PDAF projects under closer scrutiny by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
P27B pork in 2014 national budget - But PDAF projects in NGOs to be scrutinized
