BISHOP PROTESTS PORK

I obviously didn't get enough sleep over the weekend. Browsing the morning papers I saw this headline and assumed the Church in the Philippines was seeking to reconcile some of the dogma of Catholicism with the the Jewish and Islamic concepts of food being, respectively, Kosher and Halal.

Catholic bishop tells solons: Abstain from pork

The article is about moves to eliminate congressional pork, funds that are released to legislators for use on bribery vote buying development projects in their districts.

It's not a bad article – as well as being informative it shows that Filipino politicians are adept in the art of the soundbite: "The nation needs a liposuction, not mere chopping to ensure a healthy body politic."

As well as putting a strain on the budget, the pork allocation has had a disruptive effect on democracy in the Philippines. The Economist (subscription required) has argued that it should be abolished:

A more radical step would be the abolition of the most egregious form of congressional pork: an automatic annual appropriation of 65m pesos for each representative, and 200m pesos for each senator, to spend on development projects of their choice. On the one hand, that would reduce the leverage of the president, who controls the disbursement of such funds. On the other, it would mean that congressmen would have to find different ways of pleasing their constituents. Some congressmen already reckon they get better publicity by loudly renouncing their allocation than they would by spending it.

The Sassy Lawyer has more plus further links.