House Speaker defended zero allocation for opposition lawmakers
He singled in on Makabayan bloc, said he believes they receive portion of NPA’s revolutionary tax
He also dared them to condemn Reds’ practice to prove otherwise
MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez singled out the Makabayan bloc in his defense of not allocating any infrastructure project funds for opposition lawmakers; saying they might be sourcing money from the revolutionary tax collected by the New People’s Army. “We do not know where they get funds for projects for their constituents. All we know is that the communist rebels with whom they have an ideological and political affinity impose what’s known as ‘revolutionary taxation’ in areas where they operate,”
Citing military reports that the NPA collects P500 million annually in southern Mindanao alone, Alvarez dared the progressive lawmakers to condemn the practice he described as “extortion plain and simple” to prove they were not complicit.
“We have not heard from the Makabayan bloc a clear and unequivocal condemnation of revolutionary taxation, leading us to suspect that they either directly or indirectly benefit from it,” he said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate earlier said the zero allocations prove that the pork barrel system still exists in the national budget in different names and forms.
“The loopholes in the 2013 Supreme Court decision on PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) are being used to make this porky habit still thrive in our political system. Only the style and name have changed but it is still the old patronage-driven pork barrel system,” he said.
Zarate and another progressive lawmaker, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio also clarified that they did not submit any project proposals to the House due to their opposition to pork barrel — hence, their inclusion in the list of 24 opposition solons who reportedly received the axe.
He singled in on Makabayan bloc, said he believes they receive portion of NPA’s revolutionary tax
He also dared them to condemn Reds’ practice to prove otherwise
MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez singled out the Makabayan bloc in his defense of not allocating any infrastructure project funds for opposition lawmakers; saying they might be sourcing money from the revolutionary tax collected by the New People’s Army. “We do not know where they get funds for projects for their constituents. All we know is that the communist rebels with whom they have an ideological and political affinity impose what’s known as ‘revolutionary taxation’ in areas where they operate,”
Citing military reports that the NPA collects P500 million annually in southern Mindanao alone, Alvarez dared the progressive lawmakers to condemn the practice he described as “extortion plain and simple” to prove they were not complicit.
“We have not heard from the Makabayan bloc a clear and unequivocal condemnation of revolutionary taxation, leading us to suspect that they either directly or indirectly benefit from it,” he said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate earlier said the zero allocations prove that the pork barrel system still exists in the national budget in different names and forms.
“The loopholes in the 2013 Supreme Court decision on PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) are being used to make this porky habit still thrive in our political system. Only the style and name have changed but it is still the old patronage-driven pork barrel system,” he said.
Zarate and another progressive lawmaker, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio also clarified that they did not submit any project proposals to the House due to their opposition to pork barrel — hence, their inclusion in the list of 24 opposition solons who reportedly received the axe.
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