Pork Barrel System in the Philippines
Originally established as the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) in 1990, "pork barrel" was first created with an initial funding of P2.3 billion for projects in all congressional districts and the national constituency of Senators. The CDF aims to support small local infrastructure and other priority community projects which are not included in the national infrastructure program involving massive and costly projects. It has been regularly included in the annual General Appropriations Acts since 1990. In 2000, the CDF was transformed into the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). (Nograles & Lagman, 2012) Mechanism and Process Upon the approval of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or the national budget, the President, through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), decides on the schedule of fund releases, i.e., number of tranches or portions, amount per tranche, and the dates of release of the PDAF and other congressional allocati...