Members of the Makabayan bloc on Wednesday questioned the credibility of a planned joint congressional oversight committee on public expenditures, arguing that lawmakers cannot effectively police a spending system from which they themselves benefit.
The progressive bloc issued the statement after Senator Win Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, announced that both chambers of Congress would form a joint oversight committee on public expenditures for the first time.
“We should not put much credence on this supposed ‘oversight committee’ because how will Congress exercise oversight over the system of ‘allocables’ or congressional allocations for infrastructure that benefit its members? Will the lawmaker proponents investigate themselves?” Makabayan said.
The group raised concerns over lawmakers’ direct role in allocating and implementing public funds, calling it an inherent conflict of interest.
“How will Congress exercise oversight over the various pork items that lawmakers themselves have a hand in implementing?” they added.
Makabayan said the structure of congressional spending made self-regulation unrealistic.
“We cannot expect lawmakers to do all these things because it goes against their vested interests of taking advantage of the pork barrel system,” the bloc said.
Instead, the group argued that genuine oversight must come from outside Congress.
“The real oversight will be the public’s continuing fight against all forms of corruption. Taumbayan ang magbabantay at lalaban sa abuso sa pondong publiko,” they said.