Proceedings of the first Independence congress : held in the city of Manila, Philippine islands, February 22-26, 1930 / Published under the direction of Dean maximo M. Kalaw, executive secretary, University of the Philippines.

256 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS

RESUME OF THE FOUR YEARS
Projects approved and initiated............ 160
Cost, estimated..................... P32,069,205
Amount spent..................... 3,758,000
Projects with continuous appropriation...... 26
Cost, estimated.................... P 7,205,692
Amount voted and spent............. 957,000
Projects totally abandoned................ 49
Initial expenses in them.............. 632,000
It may be seen above that of the P32,069,205, which constituted the appropriation necessary for the one hundred sixty
projects approved during these four years, there were voted
only P3,758,000; so that in order to complete them there would
be needed the stupendous sum of P28,311,205.
Of the one hundred sixty initiated projects only twentysix, costing P7,205,692 received continuous appropriation
amounting to P1,176,000. At this rate it would take twentysix years to finish these twenty-six projects only. With respect to the thirty projects with intermittent appropriation in
which they received appropriations they would not be finished
till after thirty-eight years.
As to the forty-nine projects cancelled or totally abandoned,
P632,000 were spent for them as seen above. Although it is
evident that that money could have been employed in other
things with greater advantage, however, the amount is so
insignificant in relation to the money needed for the completion
of the work that we might just as well consider the expense
as a total loss. And the fact that in various other projects
with intermittent funds the work has to be suspended for a
year, and at times for two and more years, imply loss also of.
such a sum which should be remedied in the future.
But this will not be possible, gentlemen, while we have no
definite program or a unity of policy in this highway work
the funds of which are called the "pork barrel."
Imagine for a moment the materialization of the Burnham
plan in the city of Manila. Let us suppose that the government
commences to construct a building in the government center
for the Bureau of Lands for instance; and without finishing