PDAF ng Ina Mo



Disbursement done.

At first I thought PDAF was needed to keep conscientiously challenged members of congress at bay. A sitting president will need to have the power of the purse to prod or restrain key people in the pursuit of his or her programs. I thought without the PDAF, a sitting president would be powerless to effect change. No PDAF, no carrot, no stick.

And I thought some more. Maybe we don't have to abolish the damn thing. We just have to change the way it's used. If we state in the guidelines that the PDAF can only be used for the hospitals and schools in the respective districts of our representatives, maybe that'll be easier to track. That way we can be sure that every district's health and education sector gets financial support from congress. Heck, every government hospital I know needs financial assistance badly. And it's no secret we lack classrooms and other education tools. Yes, we've run out of trees to hold classes under.

But then again, without pork, congress will cease to be a beacon (there's a misspelled pun in there somewhere) of earthly pleasures to a lot of people. Without it, half the population of congress will wither and die. The remaining half will become emaciated and hallucinate; hence, harmless. Without PDAF, there may no longer be a need for the carrot and the stick. Without the promise of not-so-hidden treasures, we can be sure that the people trooping to congress (or most of them, anyway) will actually have lawmaking in mind. I'm quite sure imaginative citizens will still find ways to rob the nation's coffers, but hopefully with less vaults to protect, the government will be able to come up with better safeguards.

So, Mr. Congressperson, you don't have to be the ninong or ninang of every newborn in your district. But if you wish to be so, you need to bear in mind that the pakimkim will have to come from your pocket, not mine.