Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Pork Barrel Scam: A Manifesto of Disgust from the Sons and Daughters of the Philippine Military Academy



On August 21, 2013 the concerned sons and daughters of the Philippine Military Academy issued a Manifesto on the Pork Barrel Scam.

Janet Lim Napoles, the businesswoman at the center of the alleged pork barrel scam, is in hiding for illegal detention charges filed by scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy.

Napoles is also accused of setting up bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) that received some P10 billion in pork barrel funds allocations of some lawmakers.

Below is the full text of the Manifesto.

An Expression of Public Disgust and a Call for Action

WE, concerned sons and daughters of the Philippine Military Academy, join the Filipino people in condemning in the strongest terms possible the systematic plunder of public funds via the pork barrel by some members of Congress and their accomplices.

WE are aghast, disgusted and enraged at such a wanton display of shamelessness by those who we elected to serve and protect the people. Rather than fulfill their sworn oaths, they unabashedly used their position to steal, deceive and enrich themselves at the expense of their fellowmen most of whom continue to suffer in utter poverty.

WE cannot and we will not tolerate this anymore even those from among our own.

WE demand that justice be served as true justice must.

WE demand that all the stolen funds be returned to the national coffers and that the guilty be meted their due punishment at the soonest possible time.

WE demand an immediate end to the immoral pork barrel system which has proven to be the root cause of corruption and will continually besmirch and compromise the commitment and dedication of the other honorable members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Pork has lost its rationale. Those funds could have been used for better purposes and with clear accountability and control under the Executive branch.

WE trust that this government through the President who advocated good governance and the fight against corruption through the "Daang Matuwid" will fulfill what they had promised.

WE believe PNoy when he said then, “Kung walang kurap, walang mahirap” and in the saying that evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Thus, we band together with other Filipinos who are similarly infuriated in expressing freely our thoughts and call to end this grave injustice. Inaction or complacency is no longer an option.

And finally, WE pledge on our honor, in the memory of our fallen Cavaliers who gave their all and in the revered name of PMA that we will be vigilant on issues of corruption so as to give to the Filipino people, from whom we owe so much the privilege to have served this country and of what we have become, what they truly deserve.

To these, with the help of GOD and with COURAGE, INTEGRITY and LOYALTY, we sign our names below.





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Pork Barrel for Dummies: A How-To Guide to Scamming 10 Billion in the Ph



Janet Lim Napoles, the businesswoman at the center of the alleged pork barrel scam, is in hiding. The authorities are hunting her down because a Makati court issued an arrest warrant for her and brother Reynald Lim for illegal detention charges filed by scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy. The court recommended no bail.

Napoles is also accused of setting up bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) that received some P10 billion in pork barrel fund allocations of some lawmakers.

Consequently, a freeze order was issued against the bank accounts of members of Napoles’ family, those of her relatives, and of NGOs that she allegedly used to divert P10 billion pesos to those bank accounts.

The Department of Justice has launched a probe on this pork barrel scam. The NBI, in attempting to unravel the mystery of how graft and corruption works on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the official name of the congressional pork barrel, came up with a simple, straightforward video flowchart I saw online 2 days ago. It shows how a scammer can short-circuit the normal process.

But first, what is the normal process? The PDAF is a lump sum appropriation in the national budget. For this year, it has a funding of nearly P25 billion. It allocates P200 million a year for each senator and P70 million for each member of the House of Representatives. The process starts when a senator or congressman makes a request for the release of his allocation. A project list accompanies the request. Projects are drawn from a Menu specified in the annual budget law.

The request is sent to the House appropriations committee or the Senate finance committee, as appropriate. The respective committee chair of either chamber then endorses it to the Senate president or the Speaker, who thereafter forwards it to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The DBM checks if the project list conforms to the Menu in the budget law. It then releases the fund to the implementing agency identified by the lawmaker, who is furnished a copy of the release document known as Special Allotment Release Order (SARO).

The lawmaker is really not supposed to interfere in project implementation. But in reality, he chooses the NGO that receives his fund and implements his project. Consequently, the implementing agency, when it receives the PDAF fund, simply turns around and transfers the money to the NGO identified by lawmaker. The transfer is presumably covered by a memorandum of agreement signed among the lawmaker, his implementing agency and his chosen NGO. (Jess Diaz, The Philippine Star) This is where everything goes wrong. Auditors may conduct a post-project implementation examination. But by this time the fund had already been misused.

Now, with the presence of the scammer, the normal process is not merely short-circuited (defeated, lent worthless) but tremendously automated in favor of a corrupt lawmaker because he can sit in the comfort of his office while all the transactions take place.

As the NBI flowchart showed, the scammer goes to the implementing agency and offers it 10-15% of the fund. He then tells the lawmaker that everything is go and promises him 40-50%. He goes to his contact at DBM to check the list of projects conforms to the Menu in the budget law. The DBM releases the fund to the implementing agency and is furnished a SARO. The implementing agency transfers the fund to the NGO.

Simple.

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Sunday, August 18, 2013

KFC ORIGINAL SECRET CHICKEN RECIPE: 12 Herbs and spices.



I’m a long-time fan of KFC chicken and I’ve long wondered if I can create it in the kitchen myself. Well, I’ve come across ‘The’ recipe and here it is. Happy cookin!



Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
3 beaten eggs
4 tablespoons oil
For the coating
2 cups               flour
4 teaspoons       paprika
1 teaspoons       salt
1 teaspoon         pepper
1 teaspoon         poultry seasoning (or chicken stock powder)
1 teaspoon         oregano
1 teaspoon         arragon
1 teaspoon         parsley
1/2 teaspoon      thyme
1 teaspoon         chives
1/2 teaspoon      garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon      onion powder
1/2 teaspoon      celery salt

Directions:
Sift flour and add together all the coating ingredients and grind finely with a mortar and pestle and place in a clean plastic bag. Coat each chicken piece first with the beaten egg, then with the flour mixture in the bag. Make sure you coat each piece completely with the flour.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Brown the chicken in oil slowly, uncovered. Once browned, cover the skillet and keeping frying on a very gentle heat until the chicken is fully cooked. Place on paper towels to drain out the excess oil.


Thanks to Becky Boo, the creator (https://www.facebook.com/lilboo1982), who advises to “share this one so you don't lose it, and you won't see it again!”

I decided to blog it for posterity.

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