Reclaiming Our Dignity

Reclaiming Our Dignity Solidarity Statement of the Ateneo Resident Students Association Central Board (ARSACB) and Ateneo
Residence Halls Resident Advisers (RHRAs) with the Public Clamor for the Abolition of the Pork Barrel The most recent scam involving the use of the congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more infamously known as the pork barrel, has once more brought into our attention the persistence of complex social structures in our country, that endanger our individual and collective strivings to live as good and just Filipino citizens. We acknowledge the efforts of some of our honest lawmakers who have properly utilized their pork barrel allocations to aid our fellow countrymen in many aspects of their needs. We recognize the promise of a system, that, when implemented under the most rigorous application of the rule of law and fairness, may make substantial contributions towards correcting conditions of inequality suffered by our poor fellow Filipinos. We commend the president, Benigno Noynoy Aquino III and his administrations bold attempt to make the present system more transparent and effective. We join him in the pursuit of holding those who have made a mockery of this system accountable to the people by calling for their prosecution under the appropriate institutions of our justice system. We cannot, however, remain blind to the existing realities on which the practice rests, and which sadly, the practice perpetuates and exacerbates. Ours is a system characterized by the concentration of political power in the hands of elected officials who in the absence of legal and institutional constraints can use the distribution of pork barrel intentionally or unintentionally to entrench their command of authority and influence. In doing so, the benefits that may result from pork barrel allocations such as rural infrastructure, public health services, or educational support, are sadly outweighed by the inequality of opportunity for public access. Not only does access to pork barrel benefits depend on constituents ability to cultivate intimate relations with legislators, it also imposes burdens on individual and collective capacities to freely participate in key democratic exercises, such as voting or expressing support or discontent. Under the present system, our enjoyment of benefits from pork barrel allocations may be suspended when the outcomes of our political choices lead to conditions that are no longer favorable to our elected leaders. While we want to see our country rise from the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment, we do not wish to see our humble efforts, especially those of our poor fellowmen, in living decently, corrupted by the interests of those in power and seek to remain in power. We are in solidarity with our fellow Filipinos who have called on our leaders to abolish the pork barrel now and to immediately institute safeguards that will prevent this practice from being reincarnated in a different form or under a different name. We are convinced that because this practice is just one among the many institutional practices that shroud our government with mystery and which erodes the publics trust and prevent the public from genuinely forming opinions and participating in relevant decision making processes, we, the boss of our elected officials, demand that they, most especially the President and his allies, prioritize the legislation of a Freedom of Information (FOI) law and an Anti-EPAL law that will reinvigorate our sense of ownership of public affairs. We believe that these laws are essential to the pursuit of truth and public renewal in the prosecution of past and future allegations of corruption involving government officials and private individuals. We call on our government to acknowledge our capabilities in charting the future of our country by strengthening avenues such as political parties and state-civil society linkages as well as by
reforming our electoral system that will bring the running of government affairs closer to us, the people, and out of the hands of those who at present monopolize resources and influence. We believe that the determination of public expenditures is best reallocated and transferred to structures of cooperation that reflect, not just interests for political survival, but interests that are truly public in nature. This can only be done when our bureaucratic and administrative agencies are filled with energetic and committed individuals who are not only competent and autonomous from undue influence but are also attentive to the needs most especially of the poor and the marginalized. Ultimately, we call on our fellow Filipinos to reflect and discern on our own complicity to the perpetuation of this practice, even as we join ranks and transcend our particularistic interests in remaining vigilant and indignant against structures that not only damage our institutions but more importantly, our human striving and longing for a better society. We must reclaim that dignity. Signed, Ateneo Resident Students Association - Central Board AY 2013-14 Moses Cam Von Vincent Rene Cruz Jason Lawrence Dacuyan Estefanie Dayanghirang Rissa Julene Go Rae Sharlene Legaspi Gerard Peter Que Paul Miki Sajulla Noelle Marie Sanidad Ateneo Residence Halls Resident Advisers - AY 2013-14 Urduja Amor John Arvin Basa Raleo Belandres, Jr. Timothy Gabuna Paolynn Raquelle Hermida Paola Bianca Jamolin Dr. Harvy Joy Liwanag Miguel Lizada, Marco Aniano Lopez Arlaine Joy Marcelino Dr. Doris Montecastro Ralph Jacinto Quiblat Rene Raymond Raneses Dr. Amalia Teresita Rosana Michelle Severino Tristan Jeffrey Sunga Dr. Jocyline Yotoko

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Reclaiming Our Dignity Solidarity Statement of the Ateneo Resident Students Association Central Board (ARSACB) and Ateneo

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