Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson expressed his commitment to honor valid and ongoing infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program as well as subject potential land reclamation sites to careful and science-based evaluation.
He also said that under a Lacson presidency, transparency in the bureaucracy will be upheld while the culture of “palakasan” will come to an end.
The longtime public servant also said the National ID system can play a key role in thwarting cybercrime.
Meanwhile, Partido Reporma spokesman and treasurer Arnel Ty said Filipinos must never entrust six years of leadership to presidential wannabes, who keep making excuses for declining invitations to appear at public forums so they would not be assessed on their platforms and qualifications because it makes them totally unfit for the position they are seeking.
“Yes. If the contracts have already been perfected, it is incumbent upon us to implement them. It’s already there and this is intended for development,” Lacson said when asked if he would continue pending big-ticket projects of the outgoing administration should he win the 2022 elections as the next president.
These include the Mindanao Railway project and the construction of bridges that will connect the Island Garden City of Samal to Davao City as well as the islands of Iloilo, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, and Cebu in Visayas.
“Kung naka-perfect na ‘yung kontrata diyan sa Mindanao, ‘yung railway [at] lahat ng kontrata, meron tayo diyan, [‘yung] tinatawag na inviolability ng kontrata, hindi pwedeng i-violate ‘yan,” the Partido Reporma presidential candidate noted.
Lacson, however, reiterated his plan to make some adjustments to the ‘BBB’ with the intention of bringing back the Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach, so as not to overextend the huge national debt that would be left behind by the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.
“I believe we should shift back to PPP (public-private partnership) because we are deep in debt. We cannot afford the BBB. We need to tweak it and utilize our local industries who are willing to partner with our government,” Lacson said.
Meanwhile, Lacson also stated that he will be cautious in making decisions with respect to proposed land reclamation projects, acknowledging some environmental issues attached to it. He said he will apply his basic principle of science-based and data-driven solutions on this note.
“I will go back to my basic guidelines when it comes to policy decisions or whatever decision—it should be science-based and data-driven. This is very important because not all… You cannot apply this to the entire archipelago,” the presidential aspirant said.
“There are areas where we may need to reclaim but, again, it should be backed by science and relevant data. Is it really necessary or would it be harmful to the environment? In other areas, this is strictly prohibited,” Lacson noted.
Consultations with the affected stakeholders also have to be made, according to the Partido Reporma standard-bearer. Lacson, a former national police chief turned three-term senator, is seeking the presidency guided by his anti-corruption and good governance advocacies.
“Ito ang aking panata sa bayan [This is my vow to the nation]: towards the end of my term as President, there should be no doubt in the mind of every Filipino that we are better off than when we started; that our people trust their government much better than ever before,” Lacson pledged.
Ty, meanwhile, cautioned voters against these types of people, who fit right in the mold of political swindlers and have to be called out for their entitlement mentality, citing the serious dangers they pose for a nation trying to rebuild itself from the ruins of bad governance.
“Let’s look at it from the angle of an ordinary situation. If we are applying for a job—even for the lowest-ranked position in a company, for example—we really have to show up and attend a scheduled interview,” said Ty over DZXL online radio, Friday morning.
“Because you have to be evaluated if you are qualified for that position. That is our vantage point on that issue, especially with respect to the highest position of the land, which is the position of the president,” the Partido Reporma official continued.
Ty asserted that the voting public deserves to know where the presidential candidates are planning to take the country in the next six years, stressing that the Filipino people are the ‘bosses’ every election period whose rights to make an informed decision must be respected.
“Because its effects will be far-reaching: six years of public service to the nation… We absolutely need to find out (more about our candidates) if they deserve to be elected as president for the sake of our countrymen,” he said.
“Ang problema, may mga kandidatong, sabihin na natin sa salitang kanto, natsotsope po sa debate (The problem is there are candidates who, shall we say using a street slang, are chickening out when challenged to a debate),” Ty noted further.
Throughout his conversation with DZXL radio hosts Buddy Oberas and Ricky Rosales, the former LPGMA party-list representative did not mention who among the current crop of presidential aspirants he was alluding to, trusting that the listening public are smart enough to figure it out themselves.
On the other hand, Ty pointed out that Partido Reporma chairman Lacson never skipped a presidential interview or a debate because he understands its value for the Filipino electorate.
“He (Lacson) has always made himself ready for these debates, interviews because he believes these forums give our voters the opportunity to exercise their rights to screen and carefully think about who deserves to be voted for the position of president,” said Ty.
Lacson is running for president in the 2022 elections, campaigning on the platforms of good governance and anti-corruption, with fellow veteran lawmaker Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III as his vice president.
With their combined 83 years of experience in public service, having survived many challenges and solved problems in the past, Lacson and Sotto were able to position themselves as the most ‘leadership ready’ among other presidential tandems this election season.