By CPP Information Bureau
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today said Benigno Aquino III’s stubborn defense of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), the Presidential Special Fund (SPF), and the rest of the presidential and congressional pork barrel system is causing his further isolation from the Filipino people.
Aquino went on television last night and delivered a 10-minute speech defending the widely-condemned DAP, SPF and presidential and congressional pork barrel system, insisting that he is not a thief and there is no thievery under his rule.
“The Filipino people are long fed-up with the corruption under the pork barrel system controlled by Malacañang,” said the CPP. “They reject vigorously Aquino’s latest defense of the DAP and the pork barrel system and demand an immediate end to it as well as to all other forms of corruption.”
“Aquino’s defense of the presidential pork barrel further justify his label as the ‘Pork Barrel King’,” said the CPP.
“Aquino’s primetime airwave hogging appearance yesterday indicate his desperation in the face of widespread condemnation of the DAP and the pork barrel system which promotes political patronage and corruption,” pointed out the CPP.
“Aquino’s pitch for the DAP and the system of presidential pork is a desperate effort to shore up his sagging popularity rating amidst exposés that corruption under the pork barrel system persist under his regime, and that accused pork-barrel scam mastermind Janet Napoles had close relations with Aquino and his allies up to recently,” said the CPP.
“Aquino is also become increasingly isolated from the people amidst exposés of excessive bonuses paid to Aquino-appointed officials of government corporations, especially in the SSS, GSIS, Philhealth and MWSS,” added the CPP. “There is also widespread accusations of corruption, bribe-taking and pocketing of kickbacks in government contracts negotiated or re-negotiated under the Aquino regime.”
“There is also allegation of corruption involving his sister Ballsy which Malacañang is eagerly dismissing, even when it has yet to be properly and carefully investigated, in congress or elsewhere,” said the CPP.
“It is absolutely tasteless for Aquino to have made use of the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people in the grave government-made humanitarian crisis in Zamboanga, as well as the millions affected by the recent disasters in the country to make a pitch for the presidential pork when in the first place his government has alloted a measly P7 billion for disaster response and has made no efforts at disaster prevention and preparedness,” pointed out the CPP.
“Aquino’s claim that he is not a thief carries zero weight,” said the CPP. “Heads of criminal syndicates rarely dirty their hands and commit the crimes directly (although Aquino’s associations with Janet Napoles seem to indicate otherwise). As president, Aquino need only to issue orders or create the conditions for corruption and bureaucratic thievery. With the presidential pork barrel and the DAP, Aquino has easily influenced legislation and government policy to favor his political agenda as well as other interests.”