Lacson 'saved' P300B from corruption
Lacson 'saved' P300B from corruption
SEN. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said he "saved" about P300 billion in public funds from possible graft and corruption because of his keen scrutiny of the national budget.
In his dialog with members and officials of the transport sector in Quezon City on Saturday, Lacson said it is his duty as a senator to scrutinize the General Appropriations Act.
"Umaabot na pala ng P300 billion ang nailigtas sa kaban ng bayan doon sa 18 taon ng kabubusisi ko (It appeared that P300 billion have been saved from national coffers in my 18 years of scrutinizing [the budget])," he said.
Lacson said that he slashed the budget for some projects, which he knew will not be put in good use and realigned these funds to hospitals. However, he earned the ire of some politicians.
"Pera natin 'yun e, pera ninyo, pera nating lahat. Bakit hindi natin babantayan (That's our money, your money, our money. Why should we not guard it [against graft and corruption])?" he stressed.
Meanwhile, the senator said he instructed his staff to fact check the report of the Commission on Audit (CoA) flagging over P14 billion in the interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM) of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
"I'm having it fact-checked now. Anyway, if my memory serves me right, this is actually what we uncovered and exposed during our CoW (Committee of the Whole) hearings on the IRM and other misuse of PhilHealth funds and which we turned over voluminous documents to the DoJ (Department of Justice) for the filing of criminal and administrative complaints against former and incumbent officials of PhilHealth," he said.
"I confirm that the CoA findings validate the memos that we sent to DoJ containing the documents and testimonies gathered during the Committee of the Whole hearings on the IRM," Lacson said in a text message on Sunday.
He added, "The DoJ may use the CoA findings as part of the evidence for the prosecution of those already charged for several criminal acts."
Lacson reiterated his commitment to stamp out corruption in the entire government.
"We need you to end kotong (extortion)," the Partido Reporma chairman said.
He met with local government officials and members of the public transport sector in Cavite to lay down his plans for good governance and anti-corruption agenda. He said public cooperation is key toward ending all forms of corruption.
Joining him during his recent Cavite visit are his running mate Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto 3rd and their senatorial candidates — retired general Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, Dr. Minguita Padilla and Raffy Tulfo.
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