‘Simbang Gabi’ sign-up set for people’s initiative vs pork barrel

MANILA, Philippines – Advocates of eliminating all sorts for pork barrel in government are organizing a nationwide sign-up day in time for the start of the yearly Simbang Gabi (Yuletide dawn masses) across the country on Tuesday, December 16.

To gather support for its petition, the People’s Initiative Against Pork Barrel (PIAP) will set up sign-up points in various Catholic and Protestant churches in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. (READ: CBCP backs people’s initiative vs pork barrel)

The signatures to be gathered are in support of the the passage of the people’s initiative bill, which seeks to outlaw all forms of lump sum funds in the national budget, even lawmakers refuse to take it up.

The petition needs to gather the signatures of at least 10% of the total registered voters nationwide – or about 6 million – with at least 3% of signatures of voters in each congressional district.

Upon the verification and certification by the Commission on Elections of the sufficiency of the signatures, the proposed people’s initiative bill would be put to a vote through a nationwide referendum.

PIAP said the group has gathered 500,000 signatures since launching on August 23, with “several” legislative districts and provinces already hitting the 3% requirement.  

Among the mandatory acts that the proposed bill seeks to impose include: 

• All income and revenues of the Government, including non-tax revenues of departments and agencies and of government-owned-and-controlled corporations, shall accrue to the General Fund of the Government to be spent only pursuant to a valid appropriation made by law.
• An appropriation law may earmark a special fund for a specific purpose and shall be paid out only for the specific purpose for which it was created by law.
• All proposed budgets shall contain only itemized or line-item appropriations, except in the case of calamity and intelligence funds.
• All unspent, unobligated and unreleased funds by the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the General Fund and shall not thereafter be available for expenditure except by a subsequent appropriation law.
• The use of Malampaya Fund and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office Fund and other off-budget accounts shall be included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to be approved by Congress.
• Abolish the Presidential Social Fund and transfer the aggregate gross earnings of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporations to the General Fund.
• Public expenditures and transactions shall be published in 15 or 30 days and made accessible to the public.

Here’s the list of key sign-up stations across the country:  

Metro Manila

• Redemptorist (Baclaran) Church
• Sto. Nino Parish, Phase 1 , Bagong Silang, Caloocan City
• Holy Trinity Parish (Sampaloc)
• Sto. Nino Parish (Tondo)
• Cathedral of the Holy Child (Iglesia Filipino Independiente)

Regions

• Jaro Cathedral, Jaro Iloilo City
• San Pedro Cathedral, Davao City
• Kidapawan City Cathedral
• Sto. Nino Parish, Midsayap, South Cotabato
• St. Vincent Parish, Naguilan Rd., Baguio City
• Iligan City Cathedral 

Other sign up stations: 

– Rappler.com