Step Aside Pornhub: Congress' Versions of Insertion

Their Version Is Dirtier Than Porn!

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

A few months before the start of the campaign periods for the national and local candidates, members of Congress, many with checkered past, quarreled after some of them expose the billions of pesos pork barrels or “insertions”, if you prefer the latter, stealthily included by some “enterprising” minds in the cornucopia of the proposed 2019 P3.757 Trillion General Annual Budget (GAB).

They upped the ante when they dragged Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to the fry.

 Quezon Congressman and  Minority Leader Danilo Suarez grilled the latter at the plenary that his reelective official bala-e ( Sorsogon Vice Governor Ester Hamor  and mother- in - law of his daughter) district in Sorsogon is a beneficiary of a whopping P2.8 billion project.

Susmariosep, “insertion” nowadays has a very bad connotation. 
What after Pornhub, largest global pornographic online site, declared that male and female Filipinos are No.1 “voyeour” based on the minutes they glued themselves on its site. The Flips self arousal of up to 14 minutes a day average aggravated, tee he, by the snail paced internet speed brought by PLDT and Globe only worsen our reputation on prurience.

GANG BANGED BY THEM - Are the Filipino nation being ripped by these leaders? Above photo is House of Representatives Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo. From left: Former Majority Leader Rudy Fariñas, Sr, ousted Speaker Panty Alvarez, Budget Secretary Benjie Diokno, and Davao City Congressman Karlo Nograles. (PHOTO CREDIT: Glenn Lopez)

Let’s go back to other obnoxious gang bang version of “insertions” in Congress.

To the uninitiated, the billions of pesos pork barrel Senator Panfilo Lacson, the respected “porkless” solon, expose earlier that P2.4 billion and P1.9 billion have been appropriated by the powers that be in the House of Thieves, er, Representatives to the districts in Pampanga and Camarines Sur of Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo and Majority Leader Rolando “Nonoy” Andaya, Jr.

Andaya was Arroyo’s Budget Secretary during her graft ridden presidency where she was eventually charged with plunder that was later dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The duo vehemently denied the malicious insinuation by Lacson, a still ramrod retired police general. They said that 60 to 90 legislatures got bigger allocations than them.

Andaya did not mince words in a recent press conference with Arroyo that ousted Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, former Majority Leader Rodolfo  Fariñas, Sr, and President Rodrigo Duterte’s relative Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations Karlo Nograles got in the next year’s budget P5 billion, P3.5 billion, P4 billion, respectively.

As seen by seasoned political kibitzers (that probably includes this writer, ahem!) the “insertions” mean S.O.P, jargon or slang for the criminal act “cut”, by a congressman.

The bigger the insertion, son of a gun, the bigger the satisfaction, er, S.O.P.

Contractors and brass of the Department of Public Works & Highway (DPWH) in Pangasinan told me in the past that a one billion pesos S.O.P varies.

A least corrupt and more corrupt solon get 10% or P100 million and 20% or P200 million, respectively, from these contractors who won a rigged bid -  thanks to their collusion with those DPWH’s brass.

“It’s twenty percent because the sibling or friend of the congressman who interceded for the project had asked for five percent,” one of my sources told me.

“It’s another S.O.P for the officials of the DBM if a contractor wants to fast tract the release in the office of the  SARO (Special Allotment Release Order – MCO) on the multi-million pesos project either intended for the Departments of Public Works, Education, Agriculture, Internal Revenue, Transportation, Agrarian Reform or National Irrigation Administration,” my other source, a mayor, added.

“Mabuti pa ako Mortz. Iyong pinambibili namin ng pamilya ko ng boto (P500 to P1000 per voter - MCO) galing sa negosyo namin. Iyong kalaban naming congressman walang negosyo pero madaming pera,” another city mayor told me more than a decade ago.

He was absolutely correct.

Heavyweight (Elephant Division) Senator Franklin Drilon even deferred the hearing next year of the budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs because he found out that former DFA Secretary and present congressional candidate Alan Peter Cayetano allowed the P7 billion allocation to be included on the proposed DFA budget.

It was learned that Abad told Surigao del Sur Congressman  Butch Pichay in the last week's question hour that  Cayetano, when he was DFA Secretary, ordered the inclusion of the huge amount for the country’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games in the DFA budget for 2019.

“This is sports, (and) this is not about diplomatic relationship. This is about sports and there is an agency tasked to do this things—and that’s the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC),” Pichay, the best friend of Surigao del Norte Robert “Ace” Barber, said.

Readers, cite to me a member of the Congress who enriched himself or herself because he or she had successful business like manufacturing or export or whatever single proprietorship or corporation.

At least I could cite a politician who did not only own multi-billion pesos but even paid multi million pesos taxes to his town yearly. He is billionaire Bayambang, Pangasinan Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao, a sexagenarian, who did not only own big time corporation Stradcom and others but married a young pretty sultry actress "Niña" José.

“Si Mayor Cezar Quiambao pinaka idol ko. Huwag lang magtampo si (Alaminos City) Mayor Celeste (gubernatorial bet). Aminin ko talaga sa ngayon idol ko talaga si mayor!” barrel chested and bald headed retired police four-star general Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a handsome version of U.S animated hero Shrek, told us in Pangasinan before I asked him  if he was not bothered that he and President Rodrigo Duterte will be criminally tried someday by the International Criminal Court  (ICC) in the Hague and the opposition and those kin of those who were killed in the Drug War will file murder charges against them in the local court.

I now digress to our "insertion" topic.

Give me a name of a member of the House who could be near Quiambao’s wealth so he or she collaborates those multi-million pesos palatial mansions, flashy cars, and chic and ritzy properties a solon’s family flaunt to the public.

Most of these members of the House became filthy rich because of the infamous S.O.P they helped rob the coffer!

Who says that under the no-nonsense administration of President Rodrigo Duterte corruption have been a thing of the past?

Please ask ousted Speaker Alvarez , former Majority Floor Leader Fariñas, Sr., and Rep. Nograles when Arroyo and Andaya accused them of inserting the P5 billion, P3.5 billion, P4 billion, respectively, in the 2018 General Appropriation Budget (GAB).

Please ask the officials in the Palace who prepared the National Expenditure Program (NEP) that became a GAB after the two Houses of Congress approved it.

Many Filipinos were not born yesterday not to sense the reason behind the quarrels by many of Tongressmen and high government officials.

READ MY OTHER ARTICLE

The Infamous S.O.P (Cut) on Gov't Projects

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)