WATCH: SC rules PDAF system unconstitutional

MANILA - Voting 14-0-1, the Supreme Court on Tuesday partially granted three consolidated petitions questioning the constitutionality of the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) system. "The Court, speaking through Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe, ruled that the pork barrel system is unconstitutional," SC Spokesman Theodore Te said. The SC declared as unconstitutional the entire 2013 PDAF article and all legal provisions of past and present congressional pork barrel laws such as the previous PDAF and CDF articles and the various congressional insertions which authorized legislators whether individually or collectively organized into committees to intervene assume or participate in any of the various post-enactment stages of the budget execution such as but not limited to the areas of project identification, modification and revision of project identification, fund release and/ or fund realignment unrelated to the power of congressional oversight. The Court also declared as unconstitutional all legal provisions of past and present congressional pork barrel laws such as the previous PDAF and CDF articles that confer or conferred lumpsum allocations to the legislators from which they are able to fund specific projects which they themselves determined. It also struck down "all informal practices of similar import and effect which the Court also deems as acts of grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction." Te said the TRO on the 2013 PDAF is deemed permanent. Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco inhibited in the SC decision because his son is a member of the House of Representatives. The SC also ruled that the Malampaya fund can only be used for energy-related projects. ANC, November 19, 2013