UPDATED: DBM owns up to big mistake, Sen. Bong Revilla did not get P210 million in 2011; DBM blames "system bug

(UPDATED - Wednesday, Janaury 4, 8:11 p.m.) ABS-CBNNews.com, citing a Department of Budget and Management (DBM) report, had revealed that Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. got "the largest amount of pork barrel funds in 2011 among the 307 members of Congress." The DBM claimed that they released a total of P210 million to Revilla last year. That figure turned out to be completely wrong. (Check out the screenshot of article featuring the DBM’s so-called "glitch" below.)

Interaksyon.com reports that the DBM admitted on Wednesday, January 4, "that it erred in its report on the amount that was allocated for Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) more popularly known as pork barrel."

The report noted: "DBM Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad said that due to a technical glitch, the agency inflated Revilla’s PDAF by P110 million. The senator only received P100 million and not P210 million as reflected in the record of the DBM. The glitch had something to do with the uploading module for the DBM’s eTAILS   (Electronic Transparency and Accountability Initiative for Lump Sum Funds), which erroneously replicated a single project listed in Revilla's PDAF."

In the ABS-CBNNews.com report, the DBM had gone on to list the PDAF allocations of the rest of the senators. Hopefully, the facts and figures that follow aren’t "glitched" as well.

Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, P18.6 million

Edgardo Angara, P100 million

Alan Peter Cayetano, P30.5 million

Pia Cayetano, P71.2 million

Franklin Drilon, P19.5 million

Jinggoy Estrada, P100 million

Juan Ponce Enrile, P83.5 million

Francis Escudero, P50 million

Teofisto Guingona III, P46.2 million

Gregorio Honasan, P100 million

Lito Lapid, P100 million

Loren Legarda, P89.4 million

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., P95.5 million

Francis Pangilinan, P72 million

Ralph Recto, P100 million

Miriam Santiago, P80 million

Vicente Sotto III, P100 million

Antonio Trillanes IV, P35.4 million

Manuel Villar Jr., P138 million.

According to the report, "Senators Joker Arroyo, Panfilo Lacson, and Sergio Osmeña III have not been touching their annual PDAF allocations." Meanwhile, resigned Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri "did not receive any PDAF release in 2011 although in 2010, his releases totaled P41.9 million."

ABS-CBNNews.com added that the DBM "released a total of P19.5 billion in PDAF funds to senators and congressmen last year."

Here’s a screenshot of the article quoting what turned out to be a "glitched" Department of Budget and Management report. The media gets flak if they make factual errors, but what happens when a government agency makes a huge mistake? Should an, "Oooopps, sorry" be enough?

For more on this story, log on to ABS-CBNNews.com.