Partido Reporma standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who has spent most of his legislative career crusading against corruption, said he is hoping his efforts to save billions of public funds from going into the pockets of thieves would bear fruit with Filipinos giving him a chance to be their next leader.
“This is what baffles us—and we always talk about it, too—all of us are scared to be robbed of something, right? Who among us doesn’t have that fear? No one, everyone [is afraid of being robbed]. But every election, we are the ones who keep electing the thieves,” Lacson said during a political rally held at the Lorenzo National High School in Mawab, Davao de Oro over the weekend.
“This May, I guess some of us would still vote for someone to rob us again. That is the huge difference between what we refer to as the ordinary thief and the political thief who is in government,” he added.
Lacson said he and running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III are willing to offer Filipinos a better alternative in terms of leadership, one that would restore their faith in a government that would ensure public funds are used appropriately to deliver essential services for them.
“Ordinary thieves choose their victims and only get what they want to steal because it’s targeted. But the thieves in government, we are the ones who choose them to steal from us. And what hurts, what really hurts,” he said.
“Do you know the worst thing that the thieves in government can steal from us? Our rights to good health, the rights of our children to have quality education, the rights of our farmers to thrive in agriculture. Most important is the rights of our youth to have a better future. That is what they are stealing,” he added.
Lacson implored on Filipinos to think hard and assess the candidates first before voting them into office in the upcoming May 9 elections
“Once we get to our polling booths, we should think to ourselves: ‘Is this person going to steal from me?’ And let’s consider the history: ‘What is the story of this person?’” he said.
“It is so easy to say, once you get on stage, that ‘I, too, am angry at the thieves; we are going to round up these thieves’ with the index finger pointed outward, not realizing that the other fingers are pointed at that person. That has always been a problem,” Lacson said.