CONGRESS
by
Antonio C. Antonio
June
16, 2014
Congress
is a formal meeting of constituent representatives and experts to discuss
important matters of national interest, decide on the ideal means of doing
things and pass laws consistent with these decided ideal means. So congress is composed of people? But… Did you know that a large gathering of
baboons is called a “congress”? Democratic
countries, with functioning congresses, will most likely frown with this bit of
trivia but this is just how it is.
The
Philippine Constitution institutionalized the establishment of three separate
branches of government --- the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The legislature or Congress has two
sub-branches… the Senate and House of Representatives. This is supposed to be a workable check and
balance system only if and when the right people are elected or selected to
seat in these institutions. When the
misfits find their way to any of these three branches of government, everything
falls apart. In a country where
political considerations, kinship and a twisted sense of friendship take
precedence over anything, government no longer functions the way it was
designed to by the fundamental law of the land.
The
insatiable appetite of politicians for power and material wealth makes them
shamelessly and relentlessly work at wedging themselves into political
positions. In a country where being poor
is the acceptable standard, the voting citizens are helpless in changing their
political destiny. A lot of them just
simply sell their votes to make some money for the day. Can they be blamed to think that even if they
voted for the right candidates, their votes won’t be validly counted anyway? Can they also be blamed to think that they
might as well make money out of their votes because politics in their country
is just a business transaction and politicians exist to make big money?
“Since
2008, every member of the House of representatives usually receives an annual
PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) allocation of PhP 70 million, while
every Senator receives an annual allocation of PhP 200 million. The President also benefits from PDAF-like
allocation, the President’s Social Fund (PSF), worth around PhP 1 billion. Contrary to public belief, however, PDAF allocations
are not actually released to members of Congress. Rather, disbursements under the PDAF are
coursed via implementing agencies of the Philippine government, and are limited
to “soft” and “hard” projects: the former largely referring to non-infrastructure
projects (such as scholarships and financial assistance programs, although
small infrastructure projects are also considered “soft” projects), and the
latter referring to infrastructure projects which would be coursed via the
Department of Public Works and Highways.
Because presidential systems are often prone to political gridlock, the
PDAF is often used as a means to generate majority legislative support for the
programs of the executive. Furthermore,
because PDAF allocations are released by the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM), PDAF allocations are often dependent on the relationship a
legislator has with the sitting President.” (Wikipedia) Unfortunately, the poorest of the poor in the
upland, the poor rural farmer and the urban poor are usually used as
“beneficiaries” to these imaginary projects.
The
latest controversy in the Philippine Congress where Senators and Congressmen
got involved in wholesale plunder is a testimony to the one and only motivation
of most politicians… that is to amass wealth from the public treasury. Yes, they take special pride in being called
“honourable” members of Congress. To the
members of Congress who are involved in the PDAF scam, please continue walking
with your noses sticking up in the air with pride. But after sometime, please look around… you
might be surprised to discover that you are walking in the company of baboons
who rightfully belong to a group called “Congress.”
Just
my little thoughts…
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