Congress of the Philippines

Constitution Hills, 1126 Quezon City, Philippines

Sixteenth Congress of the Philippines Third Regular Session Atty. Rey Mark L. Marquez Member of Commission on Public Affairs Bill No. 4586 An Act Allocating the Priority Development and Assistance Fund (PDAF) from the Pork Barrel Program to Barangay Development Program

Preamble: Whereas a sum of twenty billion pesos (Php 20,000,000,000) has been appropriated for the Priority Development and Assistance Fund (PDAF) every year comprising the so-called Pork Barrel Program, and since a representative receives a total amount of seventy million pesos (Php 70,000,000) for his/her respective district, and since a Senator involved in such financial succor receives an aggregate of two-hundred million pesos (Php 200,000,000), and since eight billion pesos (Php 8,000,000,000) or 20-40 % of the said fund serves as a kick-back for the above mentioned individuals. SECTION 1: This act may be cited as Barangay Development Program. SECTION 2: Definition of Terms: a) Priority Development and Assistance Fund (PDAF) - a discretionary fund in the Philippines available to members of Congress. Originally established as the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) in 1990, it is designed to allow legislators to fund small-scale infrastructure or community projects which fell outside the scope of the national infrastructure program, which was often restricted to large infrastructure items. b) Pork Barrel- is the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. c) Barangay- is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. In colloquial usage, the term often refers to an inner city neighborhood, a suburb or a suburban neighborhood. SECTION 3: The objective and responsibility of this program is to allocate the PDAF in order to minimize the violation against RA 3019 also known as Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act. The monetary budget designated for the previous program shall be entitled to the development of Barangays across the country, including its rehabilitation and recuperation.

SECTION 4: Each Barangay shall obtain not more or less than one million pesos (Php 1,000,000) annually. The acceptance of the stated budgetary value shall be administered by the Department of Budget and Management. SECTION 5: There shall be a financial officer established in all 42,026 barangays nationwide, which would expedite the annual record of the expenditures and outgoings of the proposed budget. Selection of such personnel shall undergo the due process of election. The said officer shall be in charged of the following obligations--SUB-SECTION A: The funds prescribed for the development purposes including its administration and management SUB-SECTION B: The financial records and vouchers in relation to the yearly or monthly expenses of a certain community. SECTION 6: The Barangay Organization shall prepare a project plan to be reviewed and approved by the Department of Budget and Management. The project plan will serve as a basis for the disbursement of the proposed venture. SECTION 7: No public officer, except the barangay officials, shall intervene with the accountability of the proposed act unless a barangay member infringes RA 3019. The accused for contravening the law shall be subjected to interrogation in connection to Article 3 Section 2. SECTION 8: The proposed act shall take effect 90 days after passage.