A grand hypocrisy

The crux of the matter lies in the stark contrast between the nominal purpose of the EME and the reality of their usage.

Recent revelations have shed light on a disturbing practice within the hallowed halls of Congress.

Legislators in the House of Representatives stripped five government agencies of confidential funds under General Appropriations Bill 2024, all the while having access to substantial amounts of taxpayer money in what is called “Extraordinary and Miscellaneous Expenses” or EME.

Getting zero confidential funds are the Office of the Vice President, Departments of Education, Information and Communications Technology, Agriculture, and Foreign Affairs.

According to Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, it was a unanimous decision to channel the bulk of the funding to agencies in charge of ensuring national security, especially in the West Philippine Sea.

If communists, online hackers and scammers, agricultural smugglers, and diplomacy saboteurs are not security threats, then what else are, aside from sovereign rights incursions?

In the Gospel of John, it is recounted that the Pharisees brought a woman accused of adultery before Jesus, in an attempt to discredit Him. They reminded Jesus that according to Mosaic law, adultery was punishable by stoning, and they challenged Him to pass judgment on the woman, hoping to accuse Him of disobeying the law.

Then, Jesus took a moment to think and responded, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

In Congress’ case, those who threw the first stone were enjoying millions of pesos in EME, like the rest of the 309 House representatives, on top of their gross monthly salaries ranging from P273,278 to P312,902.

For 2023, data from the Department of Budget and Management website showed the House of Representatives has P1.614 billion under a “Confidential, Intelligence and Extraordinary” item. Accordingly, a legislator reportedly receives an average of P1.1 million in EME. Others holding committee positions may be receiving more.

Even more troubling is that no House member will admit how much is liquidated by certification. Yes, unlike other government agencies, Congress has Resolution 10 which does not require legislators to liquidate with receipts — only through a certification — that their public funds were spent for public purposes.

Extraordinary funds, or discretionary funds, are allocated to lawmakers to address urgent and unforeseen needs within their constituencies. These funds are intended to provide immediate assistance to constituents in times of crisis, disaster, or other emergencies. Although the idea of having a specific fund designated for such objectives is praiseworthy, the way certain members of Congress have abused these funds is profoundly concerning.

The crux of the matter lies in the stark contrast between the nominal purpose of the EME and the reality of its usage. While these funds are meant to address critical needs, certain lawmakers have been found diverting them for personal gain or non-essential expenditures. This gross misuse of public money is an affront to the trust placed in these officials by their constituents.

They have become their own Commission on Audit. Suddenly, they possess the fiscal autonomy that only constitutional commissions like the Commission on Elections, Civil Service Commission and Office of the Ombudsman have.

Self-assured and wearing smug expressions when they criticized the confidential funds during the budget deliberations, they were unprepared for the subsequent turn of events.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte exposed a troubling secret.

“Let’s stop fooling each other. We want to know the truth. You said no, I said there is, open the book. Period. A dog, by any other tag, is still a dog. The best way is to find out really what is the mystery of this ‘pork barrel’ or what you call ‘extraordinary expenses.’ When does it occur? What is the occurrence of an ‘extraordinary’ expense? You used to call that ‘pork barrel.’”

That initial small incident that appeared insignificant has now escalated into a widespread and uncontrollable crisis. The revelation made by the former president initially shocked the entire nation, and several others followed suit — igniting a wave of public outcries and exposing the glaring hypocrisy.

It has compelled netizens to critically examine the EME and they are beginning to understand and take an interest by posing relevant inquiries.

Lesson learned: If you are a sinner, refrain from being the first to condemn others.

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Credit belongs to: tribune.net.ph