Why your Tongressmen loves Pork

Why Pork Barrel is not the most efficient way to spend gov't money. Dahil major source of corruption ito, when the malacanang bribes the congressmen, or when the congressmen gets kickbacks from a project he initiated, or when he or she uses it to gain unfair advantage over their challengers in the next elections.

For the Congressmen running for office, pork is good, money is good, and corruption makes them win.

At present, the House often usurps the jobs of executive departments, particularly Public Works and Highways, Health, Education, Agriculture -- in fact, every department and agency where there is money to be made.

Why should a congressman, for example, tell the Department of Public Works and Highways what roads and bridges to construct, and to even dictate which private contractor should get the contract? The job of congressmen is to enact laws, but each one of them acts as de facto secretary of public works, health, agriculture, etc. Congressmen actually overrule the department secretaries when it comes to projects in their respective localities.

The reason, of course, is the kickbacks from contractors. The contractors kick back to the congressmen as much as half of the budget for a project. The cost of any project, therefore, doubles, while the congressman runs laughing all the way to the bank.

Congressmen say it is they who know first-hand the needs of their districts so they should be the ones to identify what projects to build. But isn’t that the job of local government officials? A congressman who spends most of his time in Manila cannot know more about the needs of his constituents than a local official who lives and works with them in the province. Besides, there are the development councils of which the congressmen are members and therefore can propose projects for their districts.

Yes.