what is a political question.doc

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What is a political question?

Will the avoidance doctrine (See Ashwander vs. Tennessee Valley Authority) preclude thesettlement of the instant issue, if the same is not a political question? r will the doctrine!e misplaced, "iven that the resolution of the ri"hts of the parties involved in the instantcontroversy necessarily calls for

resolution of the constitutional question?

#s the question of the a!olition of the $%A& a political question?

#f not, what are the 'udicial standards upon which the resolution of the question of thea!olition of the $%A& may rest? #s the manner upon which discretionary appropriationsmay !e dis!ursed a tetually demonstra!le commitment of an issue to the e"islature?(See Article *, Section + (*)) #f so, will this !e sufficient to warrant the conclusion thatthe same is a political question? r will the fact that such power is qualified ta-e it, ipso 'ure, into the am!it of a 'usticia!le controversy?

ow is the "eneral appropriations !ill enacted? (See Article *, Section + (*) and Article/, Section ++)

What is the limit upon the appropriation of discretionary funds?Will the trans"ression of such limits necessarily mean that the appropriation is anunwarranted eercise of le"islative authority? 0onsequently, if such act is to !echaracteri1ed as a "rave a!use of discretion amountin" to lac- or ecess of 'urisdiction,will it follow that such appropriation is unconstitutional?

2iven the power of the 0ommission on Audit, as mandated in Article 3% Section + (4),can it !e said that 0A could veto appropriations? (See $hilippine $olitical aw, #sa"ani A.0ru1, pp. 5465+) And if this veto is conceded, will it also effectively come within the 'udicial power of inquiry, as the same presupposes the eistence of a standard sufficientto warrant the eercise of 'udicial power?



Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) The $riority %evelopment Assistance &und is a lump6sum appropriationin the annual 2eneral Appropriations Act to fund the priority developmentpro"rams and pro'ects of the "overnment.

The $%A&, !etter -nown as 7$or- 8arrel9, is a re"ular allocation of pu!lic funds tomem!ers of the $hilippine 0on"ress. #t:s desi"ned to "ive le"islators easy access tocapital so that they can earmar- pro'ects for improvin" their respective constituencies.

At the same time, $or- 8arrel is a frequent tar"et for critics who say it facilitatescorruption. They say it ma-es it easier for politicians to divert money into their ownpoc-ets, and perpetuates the patrona"e politics that has -ept the $hilippines frompro"ressin".

Pork Barrel, Philippine Politics and the Economy8y Adrian ;. Tamayo

Pork barrel defined

$or- !arrel has its ori"in in the American history. $rior to the civil war, the slaves in theSouthern part of America were traditionally provided salted por- as a "ift to en'oy onholiday. The slaves would run into frantic for the !arrel . <awana-a cited =vans that theonrush of the le"islators to "et a su!sidy was evocative of the stampede of the slave ofthe pre American 0ivil war. $or- !arrel formally defined as the appropriations of pu!licfunds for pro'ects that do not serve the interests of any lar"e portion of the country:sciti1enry !ut are nevertheless vi"orous promoted !y a small "roup of le"islators !ecausethey will pump outside tapayers: money and resources into the local districts thesele"islators represent > an effective le"islation and use of por- !arrel results into thele"islator !ein" re6elected. As defined !y a 0ivil Society "roup in the $hilippines, $%A&Watch, 7por- !arrel funds are those allocated to politicians such as con"resspersons andsenators, to !e used, !ased on their decision, to fund pro"rams or pro'ects in theirdistricts 9.

Keepin the pork thin or thick!#n a position paper of o"rales and a"man to decry the scrappin" of $%A& , it was!rou"ht into the fore the ori"in of the por- !arrel and how was it used in the $hilippinefiscal activity. #t descri!ed the American colonial accent with the -eepin" of centralleadership of the rulin" party with the por- !arrel as spoilin" incentives for thele"islators. Towin" the line would mean an increased access to the fund without contestof use or misuse durin" the martial law era. This offensive ta-in" of the "overnment fund!y the le"islators resulted into a mechanism after the famous =%SA of the @th 0on"ressthat will ensure fund will ma-e the 7unequal equal9 !y settin" up parameters, equalapportionments, !uilt6in accounta!ility and transparency (o"rales and a"man).owever, the current system provided a system where funds are included in the "eneral

appropriations act (2AA) !ut as an independent item without mention of definite pro'ect.Also, the 2AA includes items where each le"islator is "iven a definite monetary valuewhich is reflective of the pro'ects that can !e made out from the amount. <awana-adescri!ed the system vividly in lieu of the appropriation and the le"islators: control of thefund as7B.le"islators have !een "iven items, namely the $riority %evelopment &und Assistance$ro"ram ($%A&) and the !ud"et of the %epartment of $u!lic Wor-s and i"hways. Whilean appropriation act is prepared in con"ress, no specific pro'ects need !e listed, sincethese lump C sum allocations. A le"islator is "iven a free6hand to identify her petpro'ects, pro"rams within !ud"et, and requests the concerned departments toimplement them, after a "eneral appropriation act has !een promul"ated9.

The a!ove statement si"nifies the space accorded to the le"islator to determine the

socially accepta!le pro'ect in order to indicate 7!rin"in" the por-9 to the level of theconstituents as demands are effectively meet !y the le"islators. Such provision of the



pu!lic "ood will !e in competition with the eecutive !ranch with its implementin"a"ency wor-in" alon" the line of a systematic and sustaina!le development.

As it was noiously termed, por- !arrel was chan"ed into an innocuous 0ountrywide%evelopment &und in 433D where which the intention is to fast6trac- development.owever, it evolved itself in +DDD into an even milder which up to present holds it name,

the $riority %evelopment Assistance &und ($%A&).

The $hilippine 0onstitution descri!es the separation of the powers !etween thee"islative and the =ecutive departments with the former havin" the 7power of thepurse9 and appropriation while the latter has the power to implement or veto the0on"ress: resolution. With the =ecutive department directly en"a"ed in the operation ofthe "overnment !ein" apprised !y the !ureaucratic office of every a"ency down Cthe6lineC up, the =ecutive holds a !etter vanta"e than the e"islative department on thepriority needs of the whole nation, thus information of the important pro'ects, pro"ramswhich can si"nificantly re6structure the economic status of the poorest of the poor. Thiswill therefore place the e"islative department in a compara!le insufficient situation forpro'ect or pro"ram implementation. 8ut with the intention of the separation of powers,the chec-6and6!alance mechanism will indicate the need for the later to determine the

priority needs of the whole nation thus allocation of fund, the monitorin" and monitorin"of the same !ein" the representative of the "eneral pu!lic.

Such mechanism will ensure that the resource allocation is a constitutional pu!licspendin" and Eta-in" out of the purse: mean thic-enin" of the por- of the le"islators.

"ypes of Pork barrel<awana-a (+DD/) descri!ed two types of por- !arrel. The first type refers to the por-6!arrel that focuses on the discretion of the national leaders. This emphasi1es the 7towthe line9 principle as it hi"hli"hts the control of the leader over the mem!ers of thele"islative. The second loo-s at the characteristics of the le"islators. This means that thele"islators: stay in con"ress, position in the le"islative !ranch, and epertise are factorsthat settle distri!ution of the fund.

The first type tells that the le"islators who are mem!ers of the rulin" party are "ivenshare of the "overnment share in a!undance as a mode of tappin" the shoulder forsupportin" the priority pro"rams, initiatives and development pro'ects of the =ecutivedepartment. The second type will stress the discriminatin" aspect of seniority, positionsin the committee to distri!ute the fund. The Spea-er of the ouse, the ouse leaders willhave a "reater piece of the por-.

"he Pork barrel and its many influences#n $hilippine politics, the manifest of le"islated por- !arrel includes construction ofwaitin" shed, sin"le school room constructionFre6paintin" of schoolrooms , roadpavement, local health spendin", trainin" centers, purchase of chairs,ta!les, computers,

scholarships, construction of overpass, livelihood pro"rams and many other "eo"raphic6specific pro'ects which would !enefit a constituency C residents of the political districts.

f equally interestin" case is the por- !arrel:s le"islation practices of the senators whoare elected nationally. #n order to avail of the rent6see-in" !enefits, these politicians willspend on a specifically Cdefined "eo"raphic district that can assure of hi"h voter:s turn6out. ormally, these are political districts found in hi"hly C ur!ani1ed citiesFprovinceswith dense population caterin" into immediate remedies done throu"h le"islativespendin". $or- C !arrel is the misuse of the people:s money for the purpose of "ainin"political advanta"e over a location6oriented accruin" of !enefits usin" a national !ud"et.

The por- C !arrel le"islation will cut epected efficiency of pu!lic finance. Gossi and#nman (433@) descri!ed por- !arrel as havin" a Edistri!utive: nature of pu!lic "oods

citin" owi with !enefits concentrated within an identifia!le constituent "roup usin""eneral taation of "overnment !orrowin" . This would mean, the whole society will pay



for the pro'ect which full !enefit accruin" to a small portion of the pu!lic. Allowin" thele"islators to fund the local pro'ects usin" a nationally C le"islated resource usin" thenational "overnments revenue will further thin out the slices of the pie thus pressin" thedepressin" conditions of the not politically ali"ned constituency even more poor.

The Gossi and #nman paper theori1ed that if the demands of the constituents were

echoed !y the elected representatives, and that, it leaves no spillover effects to non6constituents will result into inefficiency of pu!lic spendin" on the distri!utive "oods, withthe elected officials cryin" for an increased !ud"et for the constituency:s needs while theconstituents share of payin" in the form of ta declines. This is attri!uta!le to the non61ero elasticity of demand. This will lead into 7ar!er"er trian"le 9 which is an indicationof the pro!lematic political economy, and a consequent reduction in the !enefit of thepu!lic spendin".

The planned ependiture of the "overnment will !e hampered as a result of the $%A& asthe "overnment:s limited resources were used to fund locally6!eneficial pro"rams,leavin" national a"encies deficit of !ud"et of its carefully planned spendin" usin" themost appropriate formula to address systematic perils of the society li-e hun"er,criminality and the chronic poverty and hun"er. Also, it is hard to dissociate the

impressions of corruption in the dealin"s of infrastructure pro'ects which leads intousurpin" the %$W with its notorious ta" as the most corrupt a"ency, scholarshippro"rams with %=$=% officials: dirty hands and many other a"encies. $roven or not, theimpressions of the pu!lic remained "larin"ly suspicious.

As earlier stated, the fund is a lump6sum allocation of the appropriations act, !ut with thefull discretion of the le"islator on the amount, is an invitin" scene for corruption.$arreno(433@) descri!ed in a report for the $hilippine 0enter for #nvesti"ative Hournalismon the rates that a 0on"ressman will !e receivin" as a cuts, -ic-!ac-s, commissions,re!ates and discounts are ro!!ery done on the very poor. The report mentioned that thecontractors have to provide 5D6DI discount or re!ates to a le"islator for "rantin" thecontract. This will lead into reducin" !y +DI the cement on a road pro'ect ma-in" itsu!standard C the poor thus payin" the hi"h cost.

n the one hand, the $%A& is a representation of an effective leadership of a people:srepresentative. #f the districts: needs for !rid"es, roads, !rid"es are meet due to the$%A& or initiative of the 0on"ressman. #f the social !enefit is hi"her on the !enefit ofcon"ressional pro'ect such as providin" scholarship to students for trainin" or formaleducation !elon"in" to a poor family !ut wanted to learn, the social and personal !enefitwill !e hi"her than the social cost as these individuals will contri!ute productively in thesociety C thus, reducin" the ris- of potential criminals and society:s menace.

Also, the $%A& !rin"s the "overnment into the small units in the community who wereaway from the short !ut carin" arms of the State. The $%A& supports the small importantpro'ects that will directly en'oyed !y the district constituents hence, providin" an

opportunity for democratic and productive practices towards economic development.

#n $onclusion The $or- !arrel, $%A& or 0%& in any of its moni-er has its Hanus face indicatin" its sullenpast and its li-ely future.

4. #t had perennially showed that it will undermine the whole framewor- of theor"ani1ation, fund and !ud"et, and operation in favor to a small and "eo"raphicallydetermined !eneficiary.+. When the !enefit is lar"e and the o!li"ation of the constituents is small, there is thetendency to demand for an increasin" por- value. $or- !arrel promotes inefficiency ofpu!lic spendin" resultin" to a loss in the welfare of the "reater num!er of people, that isthe mar"inal national !enefit (!enefit of carryin" the national plan) a"ainst mar"inal

local !enefit (political district pro'ect).5. oo-in" at por- !arrel as a reward for support of the rulin" party:s priority a"enda, of



the attri!ute of the le"islator may result to corrupt the officials of its sli"htest paddin" of!ud"et into the most horrendous misuse of pu!lic funds.J. $%A& pro'ects effectively and efficiently addresses the needs of the 7politicalconstituents9 as opposed to the national a"enda.. The misuse of the fund will !e reduced when the mechanism of transparency andaccounta!ility will !e put in place and appropriately implemented.

*. $or- !arrel remained an American model which cannot !e transplanted into thepolitical system of the $hilippines as this will only cause the 7on6rush9 of the politicians to"et a share of the por- leavin" the poor Huan crum!s for his family, and the "enerationsto come !eholden to the vicious cycle of poor "ettin" poorer and the politicians "ettin"richer.

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