Palace assures proposed 2019 budget pork-free
Malacanang assured on Thursday that the proposed P3.757 trillion budget is pork-free.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the statement after Senator Panfilo Lacson said there were hundreds of billions of pesos in the proposed budget next year which could be considered as pork.
"I leave it to Senator Lacson because he is a legislator. He knows what he talks about," he said, noting that Lacson has had three terms in Congress.
Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte is unrelenting on his campaign against graft and corruption and he does not condone pork barrel.
"Yes, we guarantee you, it is pork-free," Roque said when asked if the proposed 2019 budget did not have any pork barrel for the lawmakers.
The Supreme Court had declared that pork barrel or the Priority Development Assistance Fund, which was used to be allocated for the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives was unconstitutional.
Pork barrel was said to be a big source of corruption in the government.
Three former senators, current and former congressmen and some private individuals are now facing plunder or graft and corruption cases before the Sandiganbayan for the alleged misuse of their pork barrel before. Celerina Monte/DMS
