If You Say You Oppose PDAF, You Should Oppose RH Too

The Pork Barrel Scam has certainly enraged this nation and the anger will soon spill over to the streets. A few days from now simultaneous rallies will be held against the greed and corruption perpetuated by the Pork Barrel system, held fortuitously on the day called Araw ng mga Bayani. The day of heroes. On that day, we take to the streets, and protest the massive corruption happening in our country – an injustice so great that it has left the poor poorer and the rich richer.

Some were afraid that the recent habagat rains and the massive flooding might steal the thunder away from this event on the 26th. However, neither rains nor flood had that effect. On the contrary, the flooding and the destruction caused by the monsoon rains served as the perfect visual aid needed for the fence sitters still undecided whether to join the said event or not. The message was unmistakeable: had the billions Napoles and these legislators pocketed been spent on a proper flood-control system, all that rain that pelted us for the past few days wouldn’t have caused the massive flooding that we saw and experienced for ourselves. This flood and loss of property, money, and lives could have been averted; visualize these images vis a vis that lavish party of Jeane Napoles, Janet's daughter. 

Admit it: Every time you hear Katy Perry's "Firework"
you will always be reminded of this. That you wallow in poverty, they couldn't care less.

Just to be clear: I am opposing PDAF because the money that these congressmen and senators have taken from us deserve to be used for projects that will truly uplift our lives, especially the lives of the poorest of the poor. 10 billion is just too big an amount to lose. Imagine what 10 billion could have bought! According to research, here is a list of what 10 billion pesos can buy:

370 million kilos of well-milled NFA rice (P27/kilo)

55.6 million kilos of pork (P180/kilo)

185 million dozens of chicken eggs (P54/dozen)

83 million kilos of “galunggong” (P120/kilo)

823 million 155-gram cans of sardines (P12.15/can)

1.59 million 50-gram packs of instant noodles (P6.30/pack)

400 kilometers of standard two-lane roads (P25 million per km)

417 bus terminals similar to the newly built Southwest Interim Transport Terminal in Parañaque City (P24 million for the terminal)

5.6 million PhilHealth members (P1,800/year)

248 million textbooks (P40 per textbook)

8,000 classrooms in two-story buildings (P1.25 million per classroom)

13,699 classrooms in single-story buildings (P730,000 per classroom)

(sources: Philippine Daily Inquirer Archives, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry, Sona Technical Report 2013)

Will 10 billion pesos make a big difference in our lives and in the lives of the poor? Yes, of course!

What if I told you that there is a law that will cost more than this 10 billion-peso scam? Yes, it is the RH law.

If you oppose PDAF on those terms above, you might as well oppose the RH law as well. Think about it.

Under the Pork Barrel Scam, 10 billion pesos were taken from us by the legislators involved. Under the RH law, 13.7 billion will be taken from us, taxpayers, whether we agree with RH or not.

We complain that the 10 billion embezzled money could have been used for other things like food, classrooms and textbooks , and roads and highways.  We complain that the money that should have been used to leap us into progress was used to make a few people filthy rich.

By the very same logic, we should also be up in arms because the RH law would be asking more from us - to the tune of 13.7 billion pesos annually. Let us make good use of that 13.7 billion to make sure that the poor have access to:

1. Clean water and clean surroundings,

2. Quality education and skills training to make them productive citizens,

3. Quality hospitals and skilled doctors, nurses and midwives so that all deaths, including maternal deaths, are lessened.

They say that RH is for the poor to have a choice – but what choice does RH offer except the choice to have or not have children? The Pro-life answer entails that we lift the poor from their poverty altogether, so that the poor, once fed, educated, and given a job, can be free to make more choices that will have profound and lasting effects in their lives. Certainly, we think that there is more to the life of the poor than just being able to choose how many children we want.

Take note that the legislators who vigorously advocated for the passage of RH also stand to receive much for giving so little to those who need most. They have foreign lobbyists that back them up – including groups that are bent on legalizing abortion in countries where abortion is still illegal. The president has already rewarded Janette Garin by way of an appointment, as DOH undersecretary.

Take note that there were persistent rumors that the president would withhold the PDAF of congressmen who would not vote for RH. This rumor was reinforced during the voting on the second reading of the RH bill back in December, when the president’s henchmen Edwin Lacierda, Butch Abad, and Mar Roxas went to congress apparently to remind the congressmen to tow the line, or else. The result was one of the most undemocratic passage of a bill. 

Both the PDAF and RH are living symptoms of this cancer we call corruption. They do not help the poor, nor does the ordinary Juan stand to benefit with these corrupt practices and laws. I ask that you remember that feeling you had when you had to endure hours of traffic, potholes on roads, inept administration of government officials, high prices of commodities and little to almost no wage increase, and a small, humid airport with stinking toilets. You had to endure all these things because the money that was intended for progress was either siphoned to the pockets and bank accounts of these greedy officials, or will be used to purchase condoms.

Can you live with that?  I can’t. That’s why I oppose both PDAF and RH, and will fight unceasingly until they are abolished and repealed forever. Social justice demands nothing less!