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₱6.7-Trillion Temptation: The Great Pork Zombie Revival and the “Collegial” Vote-Buying Circus

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Louis ‘Barok’ Biraogo

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₱6.7-Trillion Temptation: The Great Pork Zombie Revival and the “Collegial” Vote-Buying Circus
BARSc and the Art of Theatrical Transparency: 20 Extra Hours of Scrutiny, Zero Hours of Shame

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — December 31, 2025

MGA ka-kweba, gather ’round the fire because the 20th Congress is serving up another steaming pile of budgetary baloney, this time with a side of “allocables” that smell suspiciously like the rotting corpse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)—you know, that unconstitutional pork barrel the Supreme Court buried in Belgica v. Ochoa (G.R. No. 208566, November 19, 2013). But fear not, for Rep. Mikaela Suansing, the Harvard-polished chair of the House Appropriations Committee, assures us it’s all “collegial” and “transparent” (GMA Network, 29 Dec. 2025). Pass the barf bag.

Eviscerating the Lounge-Whispered Bribe Bombshell: Is This a Smoking Gun or Just Another Political Firecracker?

Let’s eviscerate this farce, shall we? Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste—solar scion turned whistleblower—dropped a bombshell: A mysterious “Atty. Jolina” from Suansing’s office allegedly slid him a secret printout offering ₱151 million in “allocables” (broken down into juicy bits like MAIFIP, TUPAD, AICS, and farm-to-market roads) just weeks before the House voted on the ₱6.7-trillion 2026 budget. Timing? Pure coincidence, of course. Why whisper in lounges via Viber and paper handouts if everything’s above board?

Suansing’s defense? A masterclass in bureaucratic word salad: “The House is a collegial body. We respect each member’s freedom to vote based on conscience.” Oh, please. If it’s so collegial and coercion-free, why the shadowy offers? Why the hierarchy—₱150 million “basic” for freshmen like Leviste, but up to ₱250 million or more for seniors and leadership loyalists? This isn’t collegiality; it’s a carrot-and-stick game where the carrot is taxpayer money dangled to buy votes. And those touted “reforms”—the Budget Amendment and Review Subcommittee (BARSc) with its extra 20 hours of “thorough scrutiny” and civil society consultations? Cute theater. Livestreams and subcommittees don’t hide the fact that district allocations are still pre-packaged “incentives” timed perfectly for budget approval. It’s PDAF in zombie form: lump-sum discretion, post-enactment meddling, all violating the Supreme Court’s clear ruling in Belgica that such systems breach separation of powers and allow lawmakers to dip into execution.

“BARSc 20-hour ‘transparency’—Netflix series na walang finale, puro cliffhanger ng kaso.”

Legal Gut-Punch: When “Allocables” Meet Anti-Graft Laws and Ethical Face-Plants

Legally? This stinks of [Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act)]. Section 3(e) prohibits causing undue injury or giving unwarranted benefits through manifest partiality or bad faith. Section 3(b) hits direct or indirect demands for benefits in connection with transactions. Offering budget goodies quid pro quo for votes? That’s textbook bribery territory—indirect at best, blatant at worst. And [Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees)]? Where’s the “justness and sincerity” when deals are whispered in lounges instead of debated in plenary? Suansing’s “no coercion” mantra rings hollow against Leviste’s screenshots and documents.

Leviste the Hero or 2028 Glory-Hunter? Don’t Drink the Whistleblower Kool-Aid Just Yet

But let’s not crown Leviste a saint just yet. His evidence—a Viber trail and a lounge handout—smacks of hearsay without corroboration. The “Cabral files” he flaunts (from the late DPWH Usec Maria Catalina Cabral, amid that separate flood control kickback mess ballooning DPWH to over ₱1 trillion in 2025) show systemic allocations, but authenticity is disputed. Malacañang calls them “hearsay” until DPWH verifies; even Sen. Ping Lacson notes Cabinet-level billions while questioning provenance. Is Leviste a genuine reformer, or positioning for 2028 glory? Fair question—he’s vice chair of Appropriations yet claims he’s “out of the loop.” Convenient isolation, or calculated grandstanding?

Phantom Lawyers, Secret Hierarchies, and the Flood Control Cesspool: Same Old Congressional Rot

Who is this phantom “Atty. Jolina”? Pawn in a deniable op? Rogue staffer? Or figment to shield the boss? The intrigue ties neatly to the December 2025 flood control scandal—ghost projects, bloated DPWH budgets, kickbacks to execs and lawmakers. Same rotten tree: discretionary funds breeding corruption. The 20th Congress isn’t reformed; it’s infected.

Fallout Frenzy: Bought Budgets, Veto Threats, and the Reenactment Nightmare Suansing Pretends to Fear

Fallout? A “bought” budget risks presidential item-veto chaos (Article VI, Section 27(2), 1987 Constitution) or outright rejection. Worse: delay ratification, force a reenacted 2025 budget, handing Executive unchecked spending power—the very nightmare Suansing warns against while enabling it. Public trust? Already in the gutter, eroded further by this “collegial” coercion.

Probe or Whitewash? Why House “Ethics” Is an Oxymoron and We Need Real Teeth

Paths forward? A House Ethics probe? Laughable—peers whitewashing peers. Ombudsman? Better, under [Republic Act No. 6770 (The Ombudsman Act of 1989)], but needs teeth. Supreme Court petition? Overdue to slay these pork zombies once and for all.

Barok’s Battle Cry: No More Secrets, No More Sacred Cows—Burn It Down and Rebuild

Enough. We demand:

  • An immediate, independent investigation—Ombudsman-led, no internal cover-ups.
  • Full transparency: Release all DPWH allocation details, the full “Cabral files,” and every “allocable” list per district, pre- and post-vote.
  • Accountability: If laws were broken—names named, charges filed, heads roll. No sacred cows.
  • Real reform: Surgical excision of discretionary “allocables.” Codify line-item specificity, ban post-enactment insertions, enforce Belgica‘s spirit. No more hierarchies, no more secrets.

The powerful squirm when sunlight hits. Congress, your “collegial” con is exposed. The people aren’t buying it anymore. Time to pay up—or face the reckoning.

Your taxes paid for this farce.

Demand a refund—or a revolution.

Barok has spoken.

Now it’s your turn to roar.

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Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo

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