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Pamalakaya asks lawmakers to use pork barrel to fight drought
House of Representatives capable of raising P 446 million to address dry spell, says group

The left-leaning fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Thursday urged the country’s lawmakers to set aside significant portions of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), popularly known as pork barrel funds to address the prolong dry spell facing the country.

Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap issued the “ call of duty” after the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in a report posted in its website this morning declared the provinces of Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Quirino under the state of calamity because of the prolong drought that has affected agricultural production in these northern provinces.

“Instead of engaging in a series of political accommodation in the Lower House, we demand House Speaker Jose de Venecia to rally all congressmen to shell amounts to contribute to address the worsening problem caused by the dry spell. This is urgent and more important compared to filling the vacant chairmanships in the House of Representatives,” the Pamalakaya leader said in a press statement.

Hicap said the House of Representatives could muster as much as P 400 million to address the anti-drought campaign by requiring each congressman to donate at least P 2 million. There are over 200 congressmen in the 14th session of Congress. “This is just a small part of the yearly pork barrel each congressman or senator receives yearly. This is doable,” the militant leader added.

Pamalakaya’s Hicap said the Senate could produce a total of P 46 million if Senate President Manuel Villar will require each of the 23 senators to allocate P 2 million for the anti-drought campaign. Each congressman receives at least P 70 million per year, while senators receive a yearly pork barrel of P 200 million each.

The NDCC said that in Ilocos Region, the dry spell has affected 86,000 hectares of farmlands in four provinces, including 26,000 hectares in La Union, 47,500 hectares in Pangasinan, 11,400 hectares in Ilocos Norte and 1,160 hectares in Ilocos Sur.

Meanwhile, damage to Quirino was estimated at P 52.129 million, while in Isabela damage was estimated to have reached P 264 million. The NDCC report also revealed that 41,815 hectares of fishponds in five towns of Isabela affecting 177 fisherfolk families.

Pamalakaya likewise reiterated its call for the oversight committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives to monitor the disbursement of P 664 million released by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to support farmlands in Luzon affected by the dry spell to prevent a repeat of the controversial
P 728 million fertilizer scam in 2004.

At the meeting of the National Anti-Poverty Commission last Tuesday in Malacañang, President Arroyo said P 264 million would be spent in Regions 1 to 3 composed of Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon, P 250 million in Regions 4-A and 5 composed of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon and the Bicol Region and P 150 million in livestock support to affected areas.

Of the P 264 million allocated for Regions 1-3, P 28 million will go cloud-seeding operations, P 63 million for hybrid corns including expenses for fertilizer, P 13 million for assorted vegetable seeds and P 10 million for the construction of some 140 shallow tube wells in Regions 1 and 2. Another 150 million pesos will be spent on seeds to be planted on areas where irrigation had been restored, including 65,000 hectares of lands in Visayas and Mindanao identified to offset the drop or complete loss of rice production particularly in Regions 1 and 3.

Pamalakaya said the P 664 million released by the Malacañang to address the dry spell is way below the needed funds to address the drought and the reported destruction of crops. The militant group cited the case of Isabela province in Cagayan Valley region where the dry spell brought P 260-million in total damages to crops. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 01:57 | link | comments |

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