By Azer N. Parrocha
MANILA, (PNA) — A resolution was filed on Monday expressing the position of the Senate to abolish the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2014.
Senate President Franklin Drilon, who filed the resolution, said in a press conference that it was a move to show that the Senate was serious in abolishing the PDAF “completely”.
“To assure the public of the government’s serious commitment and sincere efforts to instate reforms that would establish a tradition of fiscal transparency and accountability, there is a pressing and unmistakeable need to abolish the PDAF,” the resolution stated.
“We will not realign it to any other item,” Drilon said. “The national budget will be reduced to the extent that we abolish the PDAF.”
Drilon explained that resolution was filed also to avoid the Senate being charged of merely “giving PDAF another name” which, he added was not their intention.
He also filed another resolution on the same day, expressing the sense of the Senate for the Executive Department to realign the remaining 2013 PDAF to calamity fund.
The expended PDAF would constitute part of the savings, Drilon noted, which the President can use to augment the calamity fund.
“(It will) now be up to Executive Department how much augmentation would be needed,” the Senate President said.