Stop quarrel over pork, OFWs’ reps told

OFW Family Club party-list Rep. Roy Señeres INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A migrant rights group has appealed to two House party-list members from the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Family Club who are reportedly fighting over their pork barrel allocations to stop bickering and instead join the campaign to abolish the controversial fund.

Instead of arguing over how to spend their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the OFW representatives—Johnny Revilla and Roy Señeres—should join us in pushing for its abolition, said Migrante-Middle East and North Africa (M-Mena).

“We challenge Congressmen Señeres and Revilla to join the antipork barrel campaign Depork! We will be more than happy to see them side by side, their clenched fists raised along with ours and together we’ll push the campaign for the abolition of all forms of pork,” said M-Mena coordinator John Leonard Monterona.

Revilla reportedly assailed Señeres on Thursday for moving to channel their combined pork barrel entitlements strictly to overseas Filipino workers, the primary constituency of their party-list group.

Señeres, founder and chair of OFWFC, earlier wrote Speaker Feliciano Belmonte “strongly” recommending that the group’s pork barrel be set aside for three agencies for “welfare assistance and the protection of OFWs.”

Since the OFWFC won two seats, its PDAF would total P140 million because Señeres and Revilla are each entitled to P70 million.

Revilla said Señeres offered up his (Revilla’s) PDAF allocation without consulting him. Tina G. Santos