Urge to Petition Against House Bill 3655

           
           
            House Bill 3655 (An Act Strengthening the Political Party System, Appropriating Funds Therefore and for Other Purposes) was railroaded near the closing of the August 27 session at the House of Representatives. 
           
            The bill was "suddenly" submitted to the floor for approval on third reading.HB 3655 specifies in Chapter III, establishes a state subsidy fund which actually mandates taxpayers to shoulder the expenses and operations of accredited political parties. This is worse than the traditional pork barrel which has to be released on the pretext of priority projects for constituents.
           
            This time the funds in this proposed law will go directly to the pockets of politicians  who will decide the amounts to be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act every year.
           
            Among the items to be funded by taxpayers%u2019 money are:

                1) the travel expenses of candidates during the campaign period;
                2) salaries of staff;

                3) expenses for the maintenance of party headquarters; and

                4) even campaign flyers and other propaganda materials.

            The proposed measure stipulates that funds will be distributed to national political parties based on their seats in the House of Representatives (50 percent) and the Senate (45 percent). The remaining 5 percent is given to the Commission on Elections for monitoring, information dissemination, and voter education.

            Obviously, the giant political parties in the country will greatly benefit from this proposed law, and no true politician will refuse the advances offered by this bill. This issue calls for a very vigilant action from the citizenry of this nation, without us knowing, a bill that will add the burden of the Filipino taxpayers nearly made it to finish line in times were all basic commodities and the cost of living is at it%u2019s peak, the highest over the past years. It is very unfortunate that these politicians who proposed this bill does not prioritize public service, they only practice self-service at the expense of the struggling Filipino community.

            Join us in our goal to put a stop to this bigger form of pork barrel. Let your voices be heard, sign the petition now if you think that this Bill should not be part of our law.