Priority Development Assistance Fund scam

The Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, also called the PDAF scam or the pork barrel
scam, is a political scandal involving the alleged misuse by several members of the Congress of
the Philippines of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF, popularly called "pork
barrel"), a lump-sum discretionary fund granted to each member of Congress for spending on
priority development projects of the Philippine government, mostly on the local level. The scam
was first exposed in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on July 12, 2013, with the six-part expos of
the Inquirer on the scam pointing to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles as the scam's
mastermind after Benhur K. Luy, her second cousin and former personal assistant, was rescued
by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation on March 22, 2013, four months after he was
detained by Napoles at her unit at the Pacific Plaza Towers in Fort Bonifacio. Initially centering
on Napoles' involvement in the 2004 Fertilizer Fund scam, the government investigation on
Luy's testimony has since expanded to cover Napoles' involvement in a wider scam involving
the misuse of PDAF funds from 2003 to 2013.

It is estimated that the Philippine government was defrauded of some 10 billion in the course
of the scam, having been diverted to Napoles, participating members of Congress and other
government officials. Aside from the PDAF and the fertilizer fund maintained by the Department
of Agriculture, around 900 million in royalties earned from the Malampaya gas field were also
lost to the scam. The scam has provoked public outrage, with calls being made on the Internet
for popular protests to demand the abolition of the PDAF, and the order for Napoles' arrest
sparking serious discussion online.

Overview of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, including disbursements and processes.
Supplementary overview of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, including why the PDAF
is wrong and possible punishments for abuse of public funds.

Although the history of pork barrel-like discretionary funds in the Philippines dates back to
1922,during the American colonial period, the PDAF in its current form was only established
during the administration of Corazon Aquino with the creation of the Countryside Development
Fund (CDF) in 1990. With 2.3 billion in initial funding, the CDF was designed to allow
legislators to fund small-scale infrastructure or community projects which fell outside the scope
of the national infrastructure program, which was often restricted to large infrastructure items.
The CDF was later renamed the PDAF in 2000, during the administration of Joseph Estrada.

Since 2008, every member of the House of Representatives usually receives an annual PDAF
allocation of 70 million, while every senator receives an annual allocation of 200 million. The
President also benefits from a PDAF-like allocation, the President's Social Fund (PSF), worth
around 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. For example, during the latter years of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration,
she was more generous in allocating PDAF funds in the annual national budget in order to win
the favor of legislators. PDAF allocation has gradually increased over the years. For example,
before Arroyo stepped down, the last PDAF allocated was for the year 2010 at 10.86 billion,
but when the Benigno Aquino III administration passed its first budget for 2011, the allocation
more than doubled to 24.62 billion.

The PDAF has proven to be very unpopular, with numerous calls for its abolition. In 1996, the
Philippine Daily Inquirer published an expos on systematic corruption in the CDF, with an
anonymous congressman (since identified as Romeo D. Candazo of Marikina) elaborating how
legislators and other government officials earned from overpricing projects in order to receive
large commissions. Public outrage over the misuse of the CDF was instrumental in the
enactment of reforms which led to the formation of the PDAF. The constitutionality of the PDAF
has also been challenged in the Supreme Court. In 1994, the constitutionality of the CDF was
challenged by the Philippine Constitution Association, arguing that the CDF's mechanisms
encroach on the executive's power of implementing the budget passed by the legislature, but
the Court ruled the CDF constitutional under the legislative's "power of the purse". This ruling
was reaffirmed in 2001, when the PDAF was challenged again in the Supreme Court.
Legislators themselves are torn on the abolition of the PDAF, with some supporting total
abolition, others supporting increased regulation to minimize abuse of PDAF disbursements,
and others opposed to it.

The PDAF scam involved the funding of "ghost projects" that were funded using the PDAF
funds of participating lawmakers. These projects were in turn "implemented" through Napoles'
companies, with the projects producing no tangible output. According to testimony provided by
Benhur Luy's brother, Arthur, funds would be processed through fake foundations and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) established under the wing of the JLN Group of
Companies, the holding company of Janet Lim-Napoles, with Napoles' employeeseven a
nannynamed as incorporators or directors. Each foundation or NGO served as an official
recipient of a particular legislator's PDAF funds, and each organization had a number of bank
accounts where PDAF funds would be deposited for the implementation of these projects.

Napoles, who specialized in trading agricultural products, frequently used the procurement of
agricultural inputs in the propagation of the scam. Either her employees would write to
legislators requesting for funds for the implementation of a particular project (e.g. farm inputs),
or a legislator would indicate to the DBM a particular recipient agency for his or her PDAF funds
that would be pre-selected by Napoles. Once received, this is forwarded to the DBM, which
would then issue a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) indicating the amount deducted
from the legislator's PDAF allocation, and later a Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA) given to the
recipient agency. The NCA would then be deposited in one of the foundation's accounts, and
the funds withdrawn in favor of the JLN Group of Companies. The funds would then be split
between Napoles, the lawmaker, the official of the DA responsible for facilitating the transfer of
funds and, for good measure, the local mayor or governor. The JLN Group of Companies
offered a commission of 10-15% against funds released to local government units and recipient
agencies of PDAF funds, while a legislator would receive a commission of between 40-50%
against the total value of his/her PDAF.

Letters sent by Napoles' employees to participating legislators would also include a letter from a
local government unit requesting for funding, bearing the forged signature of the local mayor or
governor. All documents involving local government units were prepared by Napoles' staff, and
Benhur Luy would forge the signature of the local mayor or governor. Local government officials
who were used by Napoles were often unaware that they were participating in the scam.In other
instances, however, Napoles would use emissaries to establish contact with local mayors in
exchange for commissions that would come from the implementation of these projects.

Every recipient agency participating in the scam had employees or officials that maintained
contact with Napoles, allowing for the smooth processing of transactions and the expedient
release of PDAF funds to her organizations. Most importantly, Napoles was in regular contact
with the DBM through Undersecretary for Operations Mario L. Relampagos,[18] who had three
employees (identified as Leah, Malou and Lalaine) responsible for the processing of SAROs
destined for Napoles' organizations.

Accused party

In the initial report published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 28 members of Congress (five
senators and 23 representatives) were named as participants in the PDAF scam. Twelve of
these legislators were identified by the newspaper, and close to 3 billion in PDAF funds
coming from these legislators alone were exposed to the scam. Notably, the Inquirer named
Bong Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Gregorio
Honasan as the five senators who participated in the scam. Revilla was the largest contributor
among the 28 legislators, with around 1.015 billion of his PDAF funds being transferred to
organizations identified with the JLN Group of Companies, although the extent to which
legislators participated in the scam varied widely.












Members of the Senate & Congress identified by
the Inquirer as participants in the PDAF scam
Legislator Chamber Party
Amount
exposed
Bong
Revilla
Senate

Lakas
1.015
billion
Juan
Ponce
Enrile
Senate

PMP
641.65
million
Jinggoy
Estrada
Senate

PMP
585
million
Rizalina
Seachon-
Lanete
House of
Representatives
NPC
137.29
million
Ferdinand
Marcos, Jr.
Senate

Nacionalista
100
million
Conrado
Estrella III
House of
Representatives
NPC
97
million
Edgar L.
Valdez
House of
Representatives
APEC
85
million
Rodolfo
Plaza
House of
Representatives
NPC
81.5
million
Erwin
Chiongbian
House of
Representatives
Lakas
65.35
million
Samuel
Dangwa
House of
Representatives
Lakas
62
million
Robert
Raymund
Estrella
House of
Representatives
Abono
41
million
Gregorio
Honasan
Senate

Independent
15
million
TOTAL
2.928
billion



Other legislators identified by the Inquirer as participating in the scam include La Union
Representative Victor Ortega and former Representative Arthur Pingoy. Early reports had also
identified Senator Loren Legarda as one of the participants in the scam, but Luy later denied her
participation.

Legislators identified by the Inquirer as participants in the PDAF scamBong Revilla in
particularhave denied their participation in the scam. All senators except Jinggoy Estrada
denied any knowledge of the scheme (Estrada refused to comment), and Marcos denied being
acquaintances with Janet Lim-Napoles. Revilla and Marcos have also claimed that the
investigation into the scam is politically motivated, saying that Malacaang is out to discredit
potential candidates for the 2016 presidential election who are not allied with President Aquino:
a charge that the administration denies.However, both Revilla and Marcos, as well as Honasan,
have indicated their willingness to participate in any investigation, saying that they have nothing
to hide.

On August 16, 2013, the Commission on Audit released the results of a three-year investigation
into the use of legislators' PDAF and other discretionary funds during the last three years of the
Arroyo administration. The report not only affirmed the Inquirer's findings, but also pointed to
more legislators being privy to misuse of their PDAF funds. According to the report, between
2007 and 2009, 6.156 billion in PDAF funds coming from 12 senators and 180 representatives
were disbursed to fund 772 projects found to be implemented in ways that were "not proper and
highly irregular". Of the 82 NGOs implementing those projects, ten are linked to Napoles. The
report also elaborates on "questionable" transactions made using the PDAF: 1.054 billion went
to NGOs which were either unregistered, used multiple Tax Identification Numbers (TIN), or
issued questionable receipts; while 1.289 billion in PDAF disbursements spent were not
compliant with the Government Procurement Reform Act of 2003. Lawmakers from across the
political spectrum, both past and present, were cited in the report, some of whom (such as
Edgardo Angara, Ruffy Biazon, Neptali Gonzales II and Niel Tupas, Jr.) are closely related to
President Aquino. Some legislators also donated PDAF funds to NGOs they themselves are
affiliated with: these include Angara, Victoria Sy-Alvarado and Matias Defensor, Jr..

Other government officials have been implicated as well in the PDAF scam. Agriculture
Secretary Proceso Alcala, for example, was accused by Merlina Suas, Luy's fellow
whistleblower, of being complicit in the scam, as his department was responsible for transferring
at least 16 million in PDAF funds to livelihood projects managed by an NGO linked to Napoles.
97 mayors were also implicated in the scam in connection with the allocation of Malampaya gas
field royalties as reconstruction aid for areas affected by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng which
instead went to Napoles, after it was discovered that employees of the JLN Group of
Companies forged their signatures to make it appear that they were requesting for aid. 44 other
mayors were likewise implicated in the scam when Napoles, through fashion designer Eddie
Baddeo, reportedly facilitated requests for disbursements from the Department of Agriculture's
Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) on behalf of their municipalities. A
number of mayors have denied involvement in the scam, including three mayors from Bataan,
seven from Ilocos Norte, one from Pangasinan, and one from Iloilo.

A second batch of criminal charges was filed by the National Bureau of Investigation on 33
individuals, including Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon, who is the first political
ally and partymate of President Benigno Aquino III who has been charge in relation to the scam.

A number of investigations are currently ongoing or will be organized to determine the extent of
the PDAF scam. On July 16, 2013, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that it was forming
a special six-person panel initially to investigate the projects bankrolled by the 23 legislators
originally named in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in parallel with the NBI investigation against
Napoles. The next day, President Aquino ordered the Department of Justice to conduct and
"extensive and fair probe" of the scam, which Napoles also asked for on July 27. Despite calls
for the investigation to be made open to the public, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima refused,
stating at the time that it was too early for the DOJ investigation to be made public when the NBI
was still gathering data on the scam.

Members of Congress have also called for parallel investigations in both the Senate and the
House of Representatives as to the extent of the scam. Despite calls by Senator Francis
Escudero to have the scam investigated, the Senate initially agreed not to investigate the scam
on August 5, instead opting to wait for the results of the investigations being conducted by the
DOJ, the Ombudsman, the NBI and the Commission on Audit before launching its own
investigation. However, following the release of the CoA report which implicated more
legislators in the scam, the Senate eventually agreed to conduct its own investigation, which
would be led by its Blue Ribbon Committee.

The House of Representatives, meanwhile, has refused to conduct a probe, with Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. claiming that the House investigating its own members would be
"messy", instead preferring to wait for the results of the DOJ investigation. This is despite the
clamor from a number of representatives, mostly from the minority bloc not allied with President
Aquino, that the House should conduct its own investigation into the matter.

Following the release of the CoA report, the DOJ is expected to expand its investigation beyond
the evidence originally provided by Luy and the other Napoles whistleblowers. It is also looking
at forming either a joint or a parallel investigation with the Ombudsman and the NBI, although its
main focus for the time being is on Napoles' involvement in the scam.

Napoles surrendered to President Benigno Aquino III at 9:37 pm on August 28. The president
gave the DILG secretary Mar Roxas and PNP director Gen. Alan Purisima custody over
Napoles for booking and processing.

The NBI and Justice Secretary, Leila De Lima filed the cases of plunder and malversation of
public funds against businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Juan
Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and five former representatives on September 16.

On November 19, The Supreme Court declared PDAF as unconstitutional
Reactions

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila during a press conference at the
University of Santo Tomas, Cardinal Tagle described the scandal as part of an "intricate web of
corruption", and said that it is right that the issue be investigated. He added that those involved
in the scam have "lost touch with the poor" and should visit a community of informal settlers to
understand the issues poor Filipinos face on a daily basis. "We have heard many other big
scandals in the past but these were buried and forgotten when a new issue came up", the
cardinal added.

Renato Reyes Jr., Secretary-General of BAYAN coalition Reyes described the scandal as a
"bigger test for the Department of Justice". He also said that the coalition remains doubtful if
those involve in the alleged scam will be held liable, including those perceived to be allied with
the Aquino administration. Reyes also accused the House of Representatives and Senate for
covering up the scam and refusing to open an investigation. BAYAN also re-iterated its call for
the complete abolition of the PDAF.

The Philippine Supreme Court issuing (Sept 10, 2013) a temporary restraining order (TRO)
against the release of the remaining Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) of
lawmakers for 2013 and Malampaya funds
Protests

On August 26, 2013, thousands of people came to Luneta Park in a protest against the pork
barrel scheme dubbed the "Million People March". After this, a prayer vigil dubbed "EDSA Tayo"
was set for September 11 at the EDSA Shrine. About 500-700 people attended the vigil. Two
days later another protest was held at Luneta, where according to police estimates, about 3000
entered. The organizers stated that another rally dubbed "Level Up" would be scheduled for
September 21 (with a noise barrage held before the event), and another "Million People March"
protest would be held in December.