Lacson Presidency to Put Premium on Press Freedom, Transparency November 4, 2021 - Freedom of the media and transparency of government will get a premium under a Lacson presidency, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said Thursday. Lacson, who is running for President under Partido Reporma, said there is no reason for the government to hide what it is doing if it is not involved in any wrongdoing. "Una, ang freedom of the press hindi lang importante sa demokrasya. It is democracy itself (Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy. It is democracy itself)," he said at the first LACSON-SOTTO media forum. "Bakit kami kailangan magtago? I’m all for it (Why should we hide anything? I'm all for press freedom)," he added. For his part, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III - who is running for Vice President under the Nationalist People's Coalition - vowed to uphold freedom of information. "We will pursue freedom of information,...