3 MIN READ
By MICHAEL HENRY YUSINGCO, LL.M
www.nordis.net
A perverse zarzuela is currently going on whereby dynastic politicians are frantically distancing themselves from the organized corruption behind sham flood control projects. They are trying to pin corrupt bureaucrats and contractors as the lone villains in the systematic plundering of the public coffers. But make no mistake, dynastic politicians have instigated the death of many Filipinos, caused millions in property and environmental damages, and pocketed billions in taxpayers’ money. At this point, all dynastic politicians should be treated like criminal suspects.
In 2013, millions of Filipinos marched against the PDAF scam. In the same year, this form of pork barrel was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court. Fast forward a decade, and we still have congressional pork barrel in the form of budget insertions. This is how public funds are funnelled to the pockets of national and local public officials, civil servants, and cunning entrepreneurs. And while all the principals of this pork barrel cartel are enjoying their ill-gotten wealth, millions of Filipinos living paycheck to paycheck continue to bear the daily grind.
This is just a rough sketch of the pork barrel cartel’s modus operandi. The crooks worm their way into the system by buying political influence. Often, this task is accomplished with the help of media stalwarts. Their operatives, embedded within the bureaucracy, would then assist them in manipulating the internal processes of the relevant agencies. And when the budget reaches Congress, their allies, close friends, or clan members ensure that the money to be stolen is “inserted” into the budget. The loot, then, is distributed amongst the conspirators, with dynastic politicians getting the bulk of it.
Unfortunately, it will not be easy for the President to just disassociate himself from the pork barrel cartel. Most of its members are overtly loyal to him politically. The Speaker is his first cousin, which could only mean that he would have been keenly aware of the illegal scheme happening in the budget process. As he would be aware of the shenanigans within the DPWH because its Secretary acts as his alter ego, it is only natural to assume that the President would be acutely avised of all internal happenings. It is safe to say that no one in government today can deny knowledge of this reprehensible criminal conspiracy.
Evidence of the pork barrel cartel is all over the web. Making public officials who over dramatize their cry of innocence look even more guilty. Same with dynastic lawmakers who were quick to express righteous indignation after the President blurted, “Mahiya naman kayo!” in his SONA. In fact, as far as the court of public opinion is concerned, every dynastic politician must be presumed complicit in the pork barrel cartel until otherwise proven. A few incumbent officials are clearly not involved in this criminal syndicate. However, the rest of the political class needs to provide more evidence to demonstrate their innocence.
The new Ombudsman has a crucial role in dismantling this well-entrenched illicit enterprise. The persistence of pork barrel corruption is a systemic failure that undermines both democratic accountability and development outcomes. Hence, each actor in this nefarious network must be held answerable for their role. Contractors implicated in collusion should be permanently barred from participating in government projects, while legislators and public officials who facilitated or condoned abuse should be permanently disqualified. And all of them must get significant jail time.
Therefore, cases must be built to withstand judicial scrutiny, with evidence carefully prepared to meet the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Too often, corruption cases collapse in the Sandiganbayan due to weak prosecution or insufficient evidence. Dynastic politicians—many of whom depend completely on pork barrel politics for their existence—should face not only investigation but also preventive detention to underscore that accountability applies even to the powerful. Continuous media monitoring of prosecutorial proceedings is absolutely critical.
Ultimately, pork barrel corruption reflects structural weaknesses in budget allocation, project implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Reform must therefore focus not only on punishing offenders but also on strengthening legislative oversight and fiscal governance. This requires a new generation of lawmakers fully committed to transparency and integrity. Hence, voters must support new leaders who can offer genuine alternatives to dynastic rule. Civil society can help in this regard by churning out more genuine political parties.
Indeed, the responsibility to destroy the pork barrel cartel does not rest solely with institutions. Voters enable the persistence of corrupt networks when they continue to elect the same dynastic politicians. While fairness requires distinguishing between dynasties directly involved in corruption, those that benefit indirectly, and those that tacitly tolerate it, loud and livid condemnation should extend across these categories. Journalists who have not been co-opted by political dynasties must help transform the polity into an enraged and engaged electorate.
The usual protest rallies, even a massive one, are clearly ineffective against the grip of political dynasties. Simply relying on models of good governance will also fall short in eliminating the rotten core within the government. Time to accept that the heels win when the people remain content just waiting for heroes to save the day. The harsh fact is that Filipinos must do the hard yards of political organizing. Voters can either endure their abject suffering or revolt against these dynastic politicians and change the untenable status quo themselves.#nordis.net
