Congress

CONGRESS

by Antonio C. Antonio

June 16, 2014

Congress is a formal meeting of constituent representatives and experts to discuss important matters of national interest, decide on the ideal means of doing things and pass laws consistent with these decided ideal means.  So congress is composed of people?  But… Did you know that a large gathering of baboons is called a “congress”?  Democratic countries, with functioning congresses, will most likely frown with this bit of trivia but this is just how it is.

The Philippine Constitution institutionalized the establishment of three separate branches of government --- the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary.  The legislature or Congress has two sub-branches… the Senate and House of Representatives.  This is supposed to be a workable check and balance system only if and when the right people are elected or selected to seat in these institutions.  When the misfits find their way to any of these three branches of government, everything falls apart.  In a country where political considerations, kinship and a twisted sense of friendship take precedence over anything, government no longer functions the way it was designed to by the fundamental law of the land.

The insatiable appetite of politicians for power and material wealth makes them shamelessly and relentlessly work at wedging themselves into political positions.  In a country where being poor is the acceptable standard, the voting citizens are helpless in changing their political destiny.  A lot of them just simply sell their votes to make some money for the day.  Can they be blamed to think that even if they voted for the right candidates, their votes won’t be validly counted anyway?  Can they also be blamed to think that they might as well make money out of their votes because politics in their country is just a business transaction and politicians exist to make big money?

“Since 2008, every member of the House of representatives usually receives an annual PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) allocation of PhP 70 million, while every Senator receives an annual allocation of PhP 200 million.  The President also benefits from PDAF-like allocation, the President’s Social Fund (PSF), worth around PhP 1 billion.  Contrary to public belief, however, PDAF allocations are not actually released to members of Congress.  Rather, disbursements under the PDAF are coursed via implementing agencies of the Philippine government, and are limited to “soft” and “hard” projects: the former largely referring to non-infrastructure projects (such as scholarships and financial assistance programs, although small infrastructure projects are also considered “soft” projects), and the latter referring to infrastructure projects which would be coursed via the Department of Public Works and Highways.  Because presidential systems are often prone to political gridlock, the PDAF is often used as a means to generate majority legislative support for the programs of the executive.  Furthermore, because PDAF allocations are released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), PDAF allocations are often dependent on the relationship a legislator has with the sitting President.” (Wikipedia)  Unfortunately, the poorest of the poor in the upland, the poor rural farmer and the urban poor are usually used as “beneficiaries” to these imaginary projects.

The latest controversy in the Philippine Congress where Senators and Congressmen got involved in wholesale plunder is a testimony to the one and only motivation of most politicians… that is to amass wealth from the public treasury.  Yes, they take special pride in being called “honourable” members of Congress.  To the members of Congress who are involved in the PDAF scam, please continue walking with your noses sticking up in the air with pride.  But after sometime, please look around… you might be surprised to discover that you are walking in the company of baboons who rightfully belong to a group called “Congress.”

Just my little thoughts…