Budget reforms to avert corrupt practices in gov’t – Lacson

 

Budget reforms to avert corrupt practices in gov’t – Lacson

Partido Reporma chairman and standard bearer Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson aired hopes that voters will be able to choose as the country’s next leaders those candidates who are prepared to fix the country’s most pressing problems, especially an aspirant who is capable and is sincere in putting an end to corruption in government.

Lacson aired this dream of seeing a corrupt-free government when he spoke before his townmates in General Trias City, Cavite during a visit on Friday, December 3.

Lacson waxed nostalgic in his speech to local government officials and stakeholders from the public transport sector in General Trias City, Friday (December 3), remembering the simple joys of his youth and when the national budget and its deficit have not yet ballooned to trillions of pesos.

Like many Filipinos yearning for the good old days of the past, Lacson admitted that he, too, misses a relatively easy life spent with his friends, picking fallen mangoes from the trees of their neighbors or swimming in the riverbank of San Francisco de Malabon (old name of General Trias City).

“Nami-miss ko rin ‘yung mga araw na naglalangoy kami sa ilog… Naninirador ng ibon na nag-a-ano ng camachile sa tabing-daan. Ang sarap ng buhay ‘nung araw e. Napabayaan lahat ‘yan. Bakit? Kapabayaan ng gobyerno. (I also miss the times when we would swim in the river… Throwing slingshots at birds perched on the camachile tree by the roadside. Life was good back in the day. But it was forsaken. Why? Because of government neglect.),” Lacson told Cavitenos gathered at the General Trias Sports Park.

Senate’s anti-graft advocate and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III underscored anew their commitment to ‘lead by example’ should they be given the chance to hold the reins of the national government over the next six years.

Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, is well known for being a national budget watchdog in the Upper House.

He vowed vowed to institute a corruption-free government under his presidency through exhaustive fiscal reforms.

“Ma-solve lang natin ‘yung katiwalian, ‘yung korapsyon sa ating gobyerno, more than 50 percent of the problems of this country solved na. Pag-aralan ninyo. Ganoon talaga ‘yung reyalidad, ganoon talaga, mawala lang ‘yung katiwalian…(Once we solve our problem with corruption in government, more than 50 percent of the problems of this country will be solved. Study this issue. That is the reality, it is what it is, we just need to get rid of corruption…)” he said.

Lacson said he wanted to reconcile the national budget with our tax and revenue collections, which kept falling short over the years, leading to increased domestic and external debts. In 2022, the government plans to spend around P5.024-trillion against a projected deficit of P13.42-trillion.

He pitched his Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program as a holistic and viable solution to address intergovernmental fiscal policy gaps as well as the disconnect with regard to the implementation of key development projects for the benefit of citizens.

Lacson underscored he is determined to reform the national budget process and how it is being distributed because it is the “lifeblood” of our economy as well as every Filipino, who has been making significant contributions to public funds whether directly or indirectly.