Abolish pork, rechannel the people’s money to basic social services

The Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) today joins thousands of other Filipinos in calling for the abolition of the presidential and congressional pork barrel funds and the rechanneling of the people’s money to basic social services.

We reject this system of funding driven by patronage politics: a system riddled with secrecy, discretionary abuse, lack of oversight and transparency. We reject this plunder of the people’s money. Clearly, the pork barrel funds do not go to addressing the people’s basic human rights and needs, such as affordable and nutritious food, stable and sustainable employment, housing and transportation services, and accessible medical and social services.

Recent events unmasked the corruption, depravity and crookedness of the pork barrel system. Janet Napoles’ P10 billion scam pales in comparison to the funds siphoned off through the P25 billion individual Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for senators and congressmen and the P1.3 trillion to 1.5 trillion Presidential lump sum discretionary fund that makes up more than half of the country’s national budget for the year.

Many scandals and controversies underscoring the extent of the problem have erupted over the past years in different Presidential administrations. Like his predecessors, President B.S. Aquino III has done nothing to resolutely abolish this system and work for substantial reforms. Instead, his administration has recently attempted to retain the pork barrel funds: using new terms and jargon to mask the same old system of patronage-driven public funding.

We are tired of such linguistic tricks and double talk. Let us call a spade a spade: pork barrel has long become a loot bag for corruption by bureaucrats. It has to go.

We call on fellow concerned artists and cultural workers to unite in calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system. We demand that the administration rechannel the people’s money to where it rightfully belongs: to jobs, land, education, social services and justice for the Filipino people.


The Concerned Artists of the Philippines is an organization of writers, artists and cultural workers committed to the principles of freedom, justice and democracy.It was founded in 1983 to unite Filipino artists against the dictatorial regime of then President Ferdinand Marcos who imposed repressive laws that curtailed freedom of expression.

Shock over Sandy Hook shooting tragedy

Peoples from across the world are still reeling from what may well be the worst tragedy in the history of public school shootings in the United States of America. Here, in behalf of the Filipino people, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III extended sympathy and solidarity.

In an emailed statement, Saturday evening, President Aquino enjoined the Filipinos to pray for healing and that the senseless carnage in the Sandy Hook Elementary School—where 28 were killed, 20 of whom were children—should never happen to any community.

“We stand beside you with bowed heads, yet in deep admiration over the manner in which the American people have reached out to comfort the afflicted and to search for answers that will give meaning and hope to this grim event,” the President's statement reads.

On morning of December 14, Adam Lanza, 20, allegedly killed his mother, Nancy, in her home. Riding his mother's car, Lanza then went to the school where his mother taught kindergarten and indiscriminately fired over a hundred rounds—18 of the 20 children were pronounced dead on the spot—US law enforcement sources said.

Authorities said they found three firearms in the car: a .223 caliber “Bushmaster” rifle, a Sig Sauer and Glock pistols. Lanza later killed himself, US authorities added.

The slaughter, US pundits posited, has surpassed the 1999 Columbine shooting incident that left 19 killed and 24 wounded and comes terrifyingly close to the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 where 32 lives were lost.