Jess Diaz of The Philippine Star reports that, so far, "senators and congressmen have received a total of ₱15.244 billion in pork barrel funds for this year." The report noted: "The amount so far released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is about 60 percent of the ₱25-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the 2012 national budget."
The report futher explained: "A DBM report showed that as of yesterday, a total of ₱12.582 billion has been released to House members - ₱10.078 billion for those elected from legislative districts and ₱2.504 billion for those representing party-list groups. On the other hand, releases to senators totaled ₱2.662 billion. The ₱15.244 billion does not include releases to senators and congressmen from the PDAF lump sum in the 2011 budget. PDAF allocations are good for two years."
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