Oink! Oink! The Golden Pig Worshiping in the Philippines.(Pork Barrel Issue)

Photo by Nikko Dizon

(photo by gmanetwork)

Pork Barrel also known as PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) is a fund allocated by the Government to the members of the House of Representative and The Philippine Senate. These funds are supposed to be used for their projects namely for road construction, for building schools, building hospitals, livelihood and many more. On August 2013, several Senators and Congressman and Janet Lim-Napoles have been involved in the Pork Barrel Scam. According to the news a total 10 Billion pesos were given to fake/bogus foundations associated to Napoles.

The pork barrel scam is a very controversial issue. Imagine the government collects taxes from us but are being used by these greedy people. This controversy let to a massive campaign to abolish the pork barrel. The Million People March is a protest organized to fight against corruption and to abolish the Pork Barrel fund. Organizers used Facebook and Twitter to inform the public about the event. The first protest was held at Luneta Park on August 26 2013 and the second protest was held at Ayala in Makati on October 3, 2013.

Golden Piggy symbolizes greed (Photo by Aurea Calica) 

Protesters had a program which was attended by Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, employees, students and concerned citizens. The event started 3 pm with the performance of different artists and there was also a performance by actress Monique Wilson. Once again Filipinos unite for one common goal, which is to stop corruption. Thousands of people from different walks of life gathered at Ayala in Makati on October 3, 2013 to call for the abolition of the pork barrel. They march on the streets to call the attention of the government to do something about the issue. Furthermore, they also want the people involved to be punished.

The Golden Piggy (Photo by interaksyon.com)

In the rally, an effigy of a giant “Golden Pig” was displayed in the streets. In the biblical point of view we can compare the “Golden Pig” effigy to the “Golden Calf” in the bible. Moses went to the mountain to get the 10 commandments from God written in stones after that he saw the people created an image made of gold. The “Golden Calf” was created by the people as an Idol (God) which they worship. On the other hand, the “Golden Pork” which is the symbol of the pork barrel is being worshipped by the corrupt government officials.

The message of the protest is clear; it is a moral obligation of the senators and congressmen to use the funds that were entrusted to them for infrastructure and livelihood projects that would benefit us all. We have to make sure that the funds will be given to the organizations that would help our fellow citizens who are in need. Our citizens need money to build more school buildings, hospitals, roads, we also need budget for medicine and livelihood programs as well. Finally, if only the government know how to allocate the funds from our taxes then our economy will grow and we can all benefit from that progress- and if that happens we can have harmonious relationship wherein the government supports the people and the people trust and supports the government.



ALLAN ABAN 
(Guest Writer)