by James Edgar T Sia
At an on-campus forum hosted by the XU History, International Studies and Political Science Department and Youth Act Now, a youth activist group, Rep Terry Ridon of the Kabataan Partylist urged over 100 undergraduates in attendance to join the campaign to abolish Pork Barrel by means of a People’s Initiative permitted by the Philippine Constitution.
“Porky Talks: a forum on the Pork Barrel System and the People's Initiative Project” was held on May 17 at the SC3 Lecture Hall and attended by over 100 undergraduates and their Political Science instructors. Ridon shared what he as a member of Congress learned firsthand about the Pork scandal, revealing that parties, other than PDAF scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, and their cohorts in congress continue to profit at taxpayers' expense while remaining unnoticed, uncaught, and unpunished. He also stated that the President himself has used Pork funds to compel lawmakers to pass bills in support of his agenda, thus violating the governmental principle of separation of powers.
Ridon added that while Napoles's list names 100 members of the House of Representatives, nearly all congressmen, at some time or another, have embezzled Pork funds for personal gain. As it would not serve a corrupt Congress and Administration to pass and ratify a bill to end Pork Barrel and all its possible future iterations, Ridon says that politically-aware citizens who are registered voters can take advantage of a little-known clause in the 1987 Constitution – namely, Article XVII, Sec. 2, also known as the “People's Initiative” – that would enable them to pass their own laws, without the aid or interference of the Executive and Legislative branches of government.
It was announced during the discussion that a youth organization will be formed in Cagayan de Oro to garner local support for the proposed People's Initiative against Pork, from students and others who are registered voters.
An open forum followed, during which Ridon took questions from students. One such question was whether Ridon has ever accepted Pork, to which he replied in the negative. A student currently receiving financial aid from a certain congressman asked if his scholarship would cease in the event of the abolition of Pork; Ridon responded by saying that students' financial aid from the government should have been disbursed in the first place by educational agencies such as DepEd, CHED, and state colleges and universities, and not by legislators.
Students registered in voting districts outside of Cagayan de Oro City asked whether they could be of help; Ridon assured them that he and his aides will provide them with the information necessary to carry out similar initiatives in their hometowns.