Pork Barrel Scam

Priority Development Assistance Fund Scam or Pork Barrel Scam

It is a political scandal that involves the misuse by the members of the Congress of the Philippines of their PDAF funds or “pork barrel”, which are funds that were allocated to senators and congressmen to make projects such as building bridges, buildings, schools and other infrastructures or even providing scholarships and medical expenses.

In July 12, 2013 the Philippine Daily Inquirer released an article which exposed this scam, Janet Lim-Napoles was the mastermind of this scandal. We knew that it was her because of her cousin Benhur Luy 10 billion pesos was misused because of this scam. There are more people that were accused of being part of this scandal like Bong Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrille and Jinggoy Estrada. This has led to numerous riots and protests. Right now the government is still investigating on whom are guilty.

What are its effects?

Effect on Society

People of the Philippines will start being angry at the government because of the corrupt government officials. This anger may lead to a lot of protests and perhaps another revolution which we cannot afford, a political analyst once said that we cannot afford another revolution because revolutions reflect on how stable our country is so if there would be another one we then would be seen as a unstable country. Not only that but people won’t be so happy when they pay taxes because a portion of their money has been stolen for personal benefits and not used for making new infrastructures and helping out the country and improve its development.

Effect on Economy

This scam will have a negative effect on the Philippine Economy because foreign investors will not want to invest here. This is because foreign investors would want a stable country, they generally stay away from unstable governments. Foreign investment is one of the fastest ways to make the economy grow and without that, we will have to rely on internal growth (i.e. exports etc.) which is barely enough to keep the country running.

Effect on Culture

We Filipinos are known to be very honest people but this identity may change because of this scam, the government usually represents our people and if they do bad things then our good identity may change into a bad one and we may be known as people who steal or who are dishonest. It’s also developing the "criminal"-politician culture in the Philippines, in general Filipinos will assume that most if not all politicians are crooks.

Effect on Politics

The people of the Philippines will start to not trust government officials because of corruption. They may also decide to abolish the PDAF system because of the scam that has happened. Aside from the negative effects there can also be positives, we can finally find out who in the government is really corrupt and we can get them prosecuted for their wrongdoings which may in turn remove corruption from our government.

What can you do to rebuild this nation?

Guide Questions:

a. What can the Filipino people do to rebuild the nation?

b. What can the government do to rebuild the nation?

c. As a student, what can I do to rebuild the nation?

Redwin Monteverde 9E - 17

As a Filipino to rebuild this nation from this issue we can vote wisely so that we can get a government that we can truly trust and if we choose the right people they will probably use the funds they have for the better of this nation and not for personal benefits. The Filipinos can also fulfill their roles in the society whether it's cleaning up the streets or teaching kids, it always plays a big part into helping this nation get better. Filipinos can also join protests that are against this issue so that the government knows that we Filipinos aren't happy that this is happening.

The government should just put those guilty into prison so that there won't be anymore corruption and the funds that were given to them could be used to make infrastructures, give scholarships etc. which will make our country much better than it already is at the moment.

As a student I can just study hard and build a stable future for our country, this can help our country because if we have a bright future as a nation then our country can only get better as time passes by. We can have better politicians, doctors, lawyers etc. which will really help in rebuilding the nation from this problem. As students we can also pray for our country, it may seem simple but prayer really helps because it brings the people of this country closer to each other.

Ellijah Jimenez 9E-12

1 of the problems we have today is Pork barrel scam and because of this the government lost a lot of money because of the corruption of some government official and filipino people could help rebuild the nation by paying taxes and supporting the government officials in their projects to make a better life. The government can help to rebuild the nation by making projects to improve the country and to make sure that no one will be corrupt and take the money from the government which came from the filipino people. As a student we could also help by giving solutions or speak about solutions for some problems in the Philippines.

Aveen Sujanani 9E 23

Rebuilding the nation is a tough and tedious job that will surely require the cooperation and unity from both the people and the government. We as people and government as a democracy should make choices together and must not only benefit one person but the whole community. Isn't this what democracy is for! So to involve the people in whatever is going on in our country! As the people and government we should first, learn to respect everyone's choice/s even if it could jeopardize the country in any way, may it be economical or social relations. Second, in addition to respecting everyone's choice/s, we should sometimes also take charge, when no one is willing to, so lead the people to making the right choice/s and deciding whether or not this choice benefits the community. The pork barrel for example is something that was abused and taken advantage of by the government, specifically JANET LIM NAPOLES, as she used the funds gathered from the people for her own personal use. That's why this is a great example of which could be discussed by the people and the government before being done. Because this "PORK BARREL SCAM" was a choice made only by one person that only benefitted that person. Just to bring up to speed, PORK BARREL is a law that was passed so the money that was payed by the people's taxes was to be used to develop our country, not only in the countries economy but also in the development of the country in terms of infrastructure. In my opinion this PORK BARREL situation was a lesson to everybody that one should consult first with the community before making a choice that he/she could regret once the decision has already been made. Something the government should do in order to rebuild the nation is to not follow or be influenced by someone who has bad intentions and to keep the people up to date with everything that is going on within the government, no matter if the situation may be good or bad. To help the government, we as people should support them by rallying peacefully so that they would not get pressured by the situation they are in or put in. As students, we should first pray for the people and the government so that they may be successful in the duty that they are trying to accomplish and so that they will be able to make things right and just. Another thing us students can do is to form groups and minor organizations that could suggest and advise the people and the government some ways to help them accomplish their tasks and to make it easier to do. One suggestion that could help them is to connect and include people close to the government so to help the people's communication with the government more open and not constricting.

Jan Uy 9E 30

We the filipinos can do about the porkbarrel scam is that we should let the president take away the pork barrel because the pork barrel scam goes to other government officials that they would use it for their own good. So better they just give it to the poor rather than use the money for your Self. The government can or should control them selves to use the pork barrel for the good of the people and not for the good of them selves and also not to use it for corruption. I think that they should take out the pork barrel scam, not exactly take out but give the officials but not so much like less. As a student i can use advantage of the media and message, tweet, text people to know about the pork barrel and ask on ways on how to stop it or rebel against it