Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Monday dismissed the call for a snap election as a solution to the country’s growing distrust in government, saying accountability and swift punishment for wrongdoing are what truly matter.
“Election, snap or regular, is not the solution. In fact, election campaigns actually add to more corruption of the electorate by the candidates,” he said.
For his part, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, said there is no basis under Philippine laws to call for elections outside the normal schedule.
“We have no constitutional or legal framework for snap elections. We will be flirting with uncertainty and chaos,” he stressed.
Their comments followed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s call for snap elections on the President, Vice President, and both chambers of Congress, purportedly to restore trust in government.
Furthermore, Lacson warned that election campaigns often aggravate corruption, as candidates resort to vote-buying and misuse of public funds to secure political advantage.
He also argued that changing leaders through another election would be futile if the justice system remains slow and selective in prosecuting corrupt officials.
The real deterrent to corruption, according to the veteran lawmaker, lies in the certainty of punishment, not in political resets.
He noted that corruption persists because the process of accountability is often bogged down by bureaucracy, favoritism, and weak institutions.
“For a change, how about the certainty of punishment of corrupt politicians? The higher the better,” Lacson concluded.
At the Lower House, the militant Makabayan Bloc branded Cayetano’s snap election challenge as an effort to derail the corruption investigation on ranking government officials.
“This is typical obfuscation of the issue of corruption. Cayetano is trying to divert the focus from corruption accountability to snap elections, giving the illusion that corruption can be addressed simply through the electoral process that is still dominated by political dynasties and corrupt politicians,” the solons said in a joint statement.
“How will snap elections address the issue of accountability? The proposal is a distraction and a way to douse cold water on the people’s protests,” they added.
