Presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson on Saturday said if elected, the state of public services will be enhanced and not disrupted after a massive internal cleansing in the first 100 days of his presidency.
“Such a massive internal cleansing will not be indiscriminate. It will be based on evidence against public servants who engage in corruption and other wrongdoing instead of helping their fellow Filipinos,” said Lacson in a radio interview.
“This is without sacrificing public service. This is the objective, to improve public service through internal cleansing, so people will feel the benefits of services rendered by the government,” the Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer added.
Lacson clarified that the first 100 days is not a self-imposed deadline but a starting point of a sustained cleansing of misfits and corrupt government officials and employees, similar to what he did in the Philippine National Police immediately after he assumed office as its Chief in November 1999.
“The cleansing will be evidence-based. If possible, the culprit should be caught in flagrante delicto,” he said.
Also, Lacson made it clear that while he does not care if the bureaucracy may shrink so long as those who will be left are hardworking and honest, “I will welcome honest and competent individuals who wish to join the government.”
Lacson said he will pattern his internal cleansing of the bureaucracy after the reforms he instituted at the Philippine National Police when he headed it from 1999 to 2001 that led to the elimination of the kotong cops as well as the kotong culture at all levels of command in the police organization.
He reiterated as well that he will lead by example by signing a waiver of his rights under the Bank Secrecy Law in his first day in office—
to send the message to the bureaucracy that transparency will be upheld, and corruption will not be tolerated.
“If you are to lead, you need to have moral ascendancy,” he said.
Meanwhile, showing his grasp of the workings of government, Lacson explained how the national budget process works in an exclusive interview with editors and staff of a major daily broadsheet ahead of the May 9, 2022 elections.
Lacson’s answers in the “Manila Bulletin Hot Seat” panel interview on Friday also underscored his stature as the most competent, most
experienced, and most qualified among the candidates for the presidency, which was also confirmed by netizens watching the two-hour-long program.
The longtime public servant said fixing the national budget is one of the first five priorities of his administration once he gets the people’s mandate as the 17th President of the republic. He said it had become a priority for him since he first became a senator in 2001.
“Kasi there’s a lot to be done or fix sa national budget. First, ‘yung process pa lang kasi apat ‘yan e. Budget preparation or planning; budget authorization—this is where Congress comes ‘yung authorization, meaning legislation; budget implementation—balik sa Executive branch; and budget accountability na ‘yung COA, exercise ng oversight ng Kongreso,” Lacson said.
[There’s a lot to be done or fix with the national budget. First, the process itself takes four (stages). (First is) budget preparation or planning; budget authorization—this is where Congress comes in, meaning legislation; budget implementation—(it) returns to the Executive branch; and budget accountability under COA (Commission on Audit), where Congress also exercises its oversight.]
However, Lacson said the practice now is “too top-heavy,” with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC)—the agency under the Office of the President tasked to review and approve the national budget—giving a budget ceiling to national agencies.
“Sa akin mali ‘yon because, as I, you know, consult with private corporations, the big private corporations, sa kanila zero-based; meaning kayong mga department heads, i-present niyo isa-isa ‘yung inyong mga programs, activities and projects, and justify [kung] bakit natin popondohan at kung magkano ipopondo. So, bottom-up,” the three-term senator said.
[To me that’s wrong because I, you know, consult with private corporations, (and) the big private corporations use a zero-based (budget system); meaning that for department heads, they should present every item of their programs, activities, and projects, and
justify why it needs to be funded and by how much. So, bottom-up (budgeting).]
Lacson added that in the current system, no consultation is done with local government units or their Local Development Councils, which are functioning “but they are not functioning well.”
“So, ang nangyayari ‘yung dole-out mentality at saka ‘yung culture of mendicancy, pagkat merong kaming… Every time meron kaming budget deliberation, especially pre-pandemic days, nakapila na ‘yung mga governors, mayors, barangay chairmen may mga folders. Bakit? Hindi kasi pinakinggan ‘yung kanilang prinepare [prepare] na local development plan,” he said.
[What’s happening is a dole-out mentality and a culture of mendicancy because we have… every time we hold a budget deliberation, especially in the pre-pandemic days, the governors, mayors, barangay chairmen are lined up (outside the office) with folders (of their projects). Why? The local development plans they prepared went unheard.]
“And who should know the needs and priorities of their own localities if not the local government officials,” added the former national
police chief, whose flagship program is called BRAVE (Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment).