The announcement of President Benigno S. Aquino III that the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) should be abolished has drawn mixed reactions from Filipino expatriates across the Kingdom.

Shiomi Pastoral, a housewife, said: “President Aquino’s move to abolish the pork barrel system is good because it will prevent corrupt politicians from misusing it.”

Another OFW, on the other hand, told Arab News that Aquino’s decision to abolish the PDAF could have negative effects, especially in the local government sector.

“Removing the PDAF will greatly affect the beneficiaries of development in remote areas,” said Edward Colle, 38, a Filipino working as a district manager at Fawaz Al-Hokair Food and Entertainment.

The PDAF is a lump sum appropriation in the annual national budget funding priority development programs and projects of the government. Also called the “pork barrel” system, it is distributed among different local government leaders for the purpose of using it to benefit their respective districts.

Aquino had originally defended the system but relented when one million Filipinos announced they will hold a protest march in Luneta on Monday.

According to reports from Manila, the government will not completely abolish the system, but will instead take strict safeguards in implementing it to serve its true purpose.

“Through a new mechanism, every line, every peso and every project will be subject to scrutiny and the lawmakers’ constituents would get a fair and equitable share in the budget in the form of health services, scholarships, livelihood and infrastructure,” President Aquino was quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as saying.