NEIL A. ALCOBER
A group seeking the scrapping of pork barrel in government eyes to gather one million signatures in Metro Manila for the people’s initiative that aims to abolish the pork barrel system in the country.
#ScrapThePork Alliance on Saturday launched the “1 million signatures in Metro Manila against pork barrel system” campaign by setting up sign-up booths and holding house-to-house activities in various key churches and communities in Metro Manila.
The group hopes to gather one million signatures from the 32 congressional districts in 16 cities and one municipality of Metro Manila. Various anti-pork barrel groups aim to gather 6 million to 10 million signatures nationwide.
“The people’s initiative to abolish pork barrel is a clear proof of President Benigno Aquino’s failure to dismantle corruption system in Philippine bureaucracy under his administration. It further shows the people’s response to Aquino’s insincerity to end pork politics in the country,” Love Carlos, the group’s spokesperson, said.
“The wide support of Filipinos to the People’s Initiative through signing goes to show our protests against the inutility of the executive and legislative branches of our government to end corruption. Out of this desperation, we, citizens will be the ones to put the law into our hands through our signatures and passing a law that will eliminate pork as one of the roots of corruption,” she added.
The people’s initiative, which was launched on September 23 in Cebu City continues to gain massive support in the grassroots.
The organizers said three percent of the total voting population per congressional district and 10 percent of the total voting population nationwide is needed to be able to hold a referendum for pork abolition.
“We encourage the people who have long been against the systems of the pork barrel and bureaucratic corruption to sign the People’s Initiative and together let us aim for its total abolition,” Carlos said.
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