Lacson- I first smelled 'stench' of pork in 2001

MANILA -- Former Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday said he first smelled the "stench" of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more commonly known as pork barrel, when he was sworn into office in 2001. "The first time I started to smell the stench of pork was right after I won the 2001 elections," Lacson said in an interview with "Mornings @ ANC." Lacson recalled that shortly after winning in the senatorial polls, a campaign supporter invited him for lunch, where a middle-aged woman approached him and asked: "Ano bang kalakaran sa inyo?... Komisyon? Magkano gusto niyong komisyon?" After that incident, he said he started to look deeper into the pork barrel funds being allotted to senators and congressmen. "Nagtanong-tanong na ko." "It's not true kasi ang sinasabi I never touched my pork. Nung 2001 kasi nasa budget na yun, yung half of the P200 million. Starting July 1 to December, meron nang P100 million," he said. "Gusto kong matutunan, curious ako, not to make money but to find out ano ba talaga itong pork barrel, bakit masyadong popular ito," Lacson added. He said he availed of his PDAF in 2001 for a road construction project which he later found to be substandard. "Nakakadismaya talaga because no matter how you, as the one allocating the funds for the project, maski hindi mo galawin, may mga taong salbahe na gustong galawin. Wala ka ring magawa eh," he said. But Lacson clarified that it is still a legislator's job to know how their funds are spent. "Responsibilidad niya yun to check," he said.