MANILA, July 19, 2013—A high ranking Church official called on President Benigno Aquino III to scrap the congressional pork barrel saying it is the root of all corruption and does not go well with his “daang matuwid” dictum.
“It’s about time you come out clean with this and put an end to this shameful practice,” Digos Bishop Guillermo Afable told Aquino in a letter sent to the Office of the President, July 18.
Afable urged Aquino to use his political influence to end the ‘despicable’ practice, saying the Filipino people “deserve better than this.”
He said doing so will send a powerful message and will get Aquino more praise from the people than his prohibition of using “wang-wang”.
Following the pork barrel controversy that implicated five senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives, Afable said it is now “time to put an end to this [pork barrel].”
As President, “you will have to be the one to do it,” Afable said. “At the end of the day, it’s you who will be responsible.”
“I know you and your cabinet will find a more creative, but just and ethical way of bringing the government closer to the people,” he said.
Affable also noted that pork barrel has long been regarded by observers as the “mother of all corrupt practices in government.”
“I hope to hear from you on this, on your next SONA [State of the Nation Address],” he added. (CBCPNews)
