Gov. Roel Degamo of Negros Oriental and Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria of Dumaguete City yesterday said that the Priority Development Assistance Fund should be directly channeled to local government units.

They also welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court, that declared the controversial PDAF unconstitutional.

Degamo said the SC must be respected, and he believes that its decision will not have much effect on the provincial government. There are many ways to source funds for programs and projects, and money intended for LGUs does not have to be coursed through the congressmen since their function is legislation.

Funds should be given directly to the LGUs, he added.

Sagarbarria said the PDAF can be incorporated in the Internal Revenue Allotment of LGUs. He added the SC decision show the line between the executive and the legislative branches of government and their functions. He said that for Congress, it is to legislate laws and not to execute projects, similar to the sanggunian in the provincial, city or town level.

Sagarbarria said every LGU clamors for a fair share of the PDAF, and suggests that it be distributed equitably and let the respective development councils decide what to do and where to allocate such funds.

Giving the PDAF to the discretion of a few is like going back to imperial Manila where everything is centralized, contrary to the spirit of local autonomy that is decentralization, he added.

In Manila, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. yesterday said the Aquino government will comply with the decision of the SS on PDAF.

“As we speak now, the Office of the President has not received an official copy of the full text of the SC decision. Since it is the duty of the Executive Branch to ensure full compliance with the directives of the Supreme Court, it is essential that we have a comprehensive appreciation of the entire metes and bounds of the decision," Coloma said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

On Wednesday, the SC voted 14-0-1 and declared the "pork barrel" system unconstitutional. It ruled in favor of a slate of petitions challenging the legality of the discretionary fund.

Coloma said the government will study the decision once it receives its copy to be able to fully comply with the SC ruling.*JG/PNA

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