MANILA, Philippines – With the Supreme Court ordering a temporary stop to pork barrel releases for the rest of 2013, President Benigno Aquino III has asked Budget Secretary Florencio Abad to find ways to fund the projects that were originally listed under the lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Aquino stood by his previous statements, insisting the idea of pork barrel is not bad in itself, but misuse is the problem.

“‘Yung, ulitin ko, ano – parang sirang plaka na ang dating ko nito – ‘yung pork per se, or ‘yung idea na p’wede silang magnombra ng mga proyekto na dapat tulungan, hindi inherently masama, okay? Ang maliwanag dito, merong mga nagsamantala,” he told reporters in Brunei at the sidelines of the ASEAN summit on Wednesday, October 9.

(I’m going to reiterate: pork per se, or the idea of lawmakers nominating projects in need of help, is not inherently bad, okay? What’s clear is that there are those who take advantage of this.)

He said the High Court’s decision was good in that it would minimize the chances it would not be used properly. The downside, however, is that well-meaning projects are left hanging.

“The negative side is the ones who are really studying, those being treated for chronic illnesses, their medicines and studies are also pending. No one is accusing them of doing anything wrong, and they have needs,” he said.

Because of this, Aquino said he has asked Abad to look at the “legalities of these needs that are ongoing.”

“Do we have a way to fund these projects without violating the order of the Supreme Court? Initially the PDAF was put on hold. If there are savings elsewhere, then we can fund these needs that are still existing that cannot be suspended,” he said.

The Solicitor General has asked the Supreme Court to lift the TRO on the PDAF and Malampaya fund releases.

On Wednesday, the Palace defended asking lawmakers for their input on projects to support, arguing they are “elected” and “have a mandate coming from the people.”

Oral arguments on the constitutionality of the PDAF have started. On Tuesday, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio called the PDAF unconstitutional “on its face,” as it violates the President’s power to veto line items in the budget, and thus removes checks and balances. Since legislators identify which projects will be funded by their pork barrel only after the budget law has been passed, it effectively skips the President’s chance to veto, he said.

Recent exposés on pork barrel misuse have spurred government and judicial discussions on the PDAF. On August 23, President Aquino announced his plan to reform the PDAF, adding he has stopped its release pending the changes that need to be implemented to make the disbursement more transparent. – Rappler.com