đź“·: Vera Files
IBON Foundation criticized the continued existence of pork barrel allocations in the form of flood control projects, which it claims are primarily benefiting political parties allied with every administration.
According to the group, “The ruling parties of any administration and the billionaire political parties who support evert administration are the biggest beneficiaries of pork barrel flood control projects.”
IBON revealed that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas and the former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s Lakas party cornered the largest share of 2,996 projects worth ₱177.4 billion in the 19th Congress.
Similarly, in the 18th Congress, PDP-Laban and Hugpong ng Pagbabago secured the biggest chunk of 954 projects amounting to ₱44.5 billion.
The group further noted that billionaire political parties such as the Nationalist People’s Coalition, National Unity Party, and Nacionalista Party are consistently part of the so-called “super majority” of every administration.
Across the 18th and 19th Congresses, these three parties received a combined total of 4,405 projects worth ₱243.3 billion.
Amid calls for budget reform and the abolition of the pork barrel system, IBON maintained that genuine change must begin with dismantling the structures that enrich a few powerful parties while the majority of Filipinos continue to suffer. (JCNE)
