Partido Reporma chairman and standard bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his running mate, Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) chairman Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, strengthened their hold in Central Visayas following their “Online Kumustahan” tour of Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Northern Samar over the weekend.
With enthusiastic receptions by residents and local leaders in Cebu City, Naga City (Cebu), Dumaguete City, and Catarman from Friday to Sunday, the Lacson-Sotto tandem brought their platform of governance closer to the people in dialogues that gave hope to solving the myriad problems of the country once they are elected following the 2022 national polls.
In Cebu, the Partido Reporma-NPC leaders received the tacit support of influential businessman Winston Garcia, brother of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and head of the 150,000-strong Court of First Instance (CFI) Community Cooperative.
The same situation was evident in Negros Oriental because Sotto himself said in a press conference in Dumaguete that Lacson and himself would be the official presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the NPC in the province, along with Partido Reporma senatorial bets Gen. Guillermo Eleazar and Dr. Minguita Padilla.
National Unity Party (NUP) chairman and former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno guaranteed the longtime public servants would corner the province of Northern Samar, which is his party’s stronghold.
Puno is the political strategist and campaign manager of the Lacson-Sotto tandem, while former House Speaker and Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez is president of Partido Reporma and wields influence across the wider Visayas and Mindanao regions.
The veteran senators again unveiled their flagship Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program, which aims to bring down the funds from the national government to local government units (LGU) so local officials can determine their own spending programs and priorities based on their actual needs.
Lacson meanwhile warned that vote-selling will lead to years of misery.
Lacson reminded voters against accepting offers of money from candidates and their camps in exchange for their votes on May 9, 2022.
Lacson pointed out that only a leader who can show good governance can unlock the potential of the Filipino people to become our country’s greatest asset – and improve our lives over the next six years.
Out of desperation, he said some may accept the money–about P2,000 to P3,000–to make ends meet for one week. But they do not know that for the next three to six years, they will be stuck living miserable lives.
Thus, Lacson said all Filipinos who are eligible to vote must “wake up to the reality” that it is up to them to make a difference for the next six years by choosing the right leader. “It’s all up to you, it’s all up to us. We should choose wisely our next leaders,” he stressed. With Macon Ramos-Araneta
