Convenors of the Abolish Pork Movement urge other groups to join the anti-pork barrel rally set today at the Rizal Park. GMA News

Last fight vs pork barrel, dynasties, PCOS fraud

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 25, 2014 - 12:00am

P-Noy is being judged by the worsened unemployment, poverty, hunger, food shortages and price spikes, and slow disaster rehab that his counter-reformation has wrought.

The issues have joined. Organizers of today’s rallies at the Luneta in Manila and other key cities will not be protesting the pork barrel only. They will denounce as well the related evils of political dynasties and election fraud. Together those evils corrupt officialdom and impoverish the people.

Sadly for him, demonstrators’ scorn will rain on President Noynoy Aquino. It’s his fault. Hope of reform that he planted at the start of his term – with “daang matuwid (straight path),” “kayo ang boss ko (the people are my boss),” and “wala nang wang-wang (no more power abusers)” – he himself has uprooted. This he did by declaring a desire for prolonged tenure. His dominant Liberal Party is assembling a vote in Congress to lift his and their constitutional term limits. They also will clip the power of the Supreme Court to check Executive and Legislative misdeeds. All are in retaliation to the SC’s illegalizing of the congressional pork barrel (Priority Development Assistance Fund, PDAF), and the presidential version (Disbursement Acceleration Program, DAP). Fanning the flames of discord is the public hinting by the presidential spokesman of a no-presidential-election scenario in 2016.

Yet the dissenters have a counter-demand from P-Noy: account for his P177-billion DAP in 2011-2013, and prosecute all (not just three) legislators in the P10-billion PDAF plunder of 2007-2009. Such accounting shall be viewed in light of the worsening economy. Joblessness is now at 26 percent, from latest polls; poverty incidence at 27 percent, by official stats; and self-rated hunger at 16 percent. P-Noy is being judged by the crises that sprang in the second half of his term: rice fruit, and onion price spikes; shortages of vegetables, garlic, ginger, and chicken; Manila port congestion; slow government rehab for four million people struck by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan); and a nationwide crime wave. Nationwide power shortage looms in early 2015; and water scarcity the following year.

Through all this, P-Noy’s LP mates are enriching themselves from crooked multibillion-peso deals in agriculture, natural resources, hospital land, and transportation. Obviously they are preparing to buy votes anew – if elections push through in 2016 – to maintain their political dynasties. Even the election chief is joining in; although scheduled to retire by Feb., six months away, he is angling to purchase this Nov. new untried balloting machines for P18 billion. That same poll chief reportedly is set to trash the six million voters’ signatures that today’s protest organizers will begin to muster, for a people-initiated law forbidding pork barrels and all its twin evils forever. - PHILSTAR

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