IBALIK ANG TIWALA

  Lacson: BRAVE to erase begging, ‘utang na loob’ for LGUs Local government units don’t have to beg and feel “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude) toward politicians every time they ask for more funding for their projects once a proper bottom-up budgeting system is in place, Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said. The Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program advocated by Lacson and running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III is precisely what LGUs need to meet their local needs and priorities and not wait for “alms” from the national government, especially during the so-called budget season. The longtime public servants believe it is more effective for local officials to be part of the national budget-making process because they will also be the ones tasked to implement the programs tied to the funding – and would be accountable for the people’s money too under BRAVE. Lacson revealed this reality in all his “Online Kum...

  Not about personalities! Pacquiao aligns w/ Lacson call for issue-based campaign Senator Manny Pacquiao said he agreed to Senator Ping Lacson’s call for all candidates to elevate the debates during the campaign according to issues instead of personalities. “Kaisa natin sa isipan si Senator Ping Lacson sa ganyang pananaw,” he said. “Since day one, our campaign has always been about issues and not personalities, about state policies, programs on how to uplift the lives of the poor and our visions for a better Philippines,” Pacquiao said when asked to react to Lacson’s call. “Kaya naman paulit-ulit nating ibinabahagi ang ating all-out war laban sa corruption, ang ating kagustuhan na ibaba ang ating mga buwis at mag focus sa ating non-tax revenue generation, ang ating zero-squatter campaign at ang pagkakaroon ng 50-year master plan sa ating mga infrastructure projects,” he added. “Inaasahan natin na ang ating mga mamamayan ay pipili ng kanilang susunod na lider batay sa mga bagay na ...

Sotto: Malacañang postpones signing of 2022 nat’l budget Malacañang has postponed President Rodrigo Duterte’s ceremonial signing of the 2022 national budget originally scheduled on December 28, according to Senate President Tito Sotto. In a Viber thread, the Senate leader informed reporters that the signing ceremony was being rescheduled. No explanation was given for the postponement, according to Sotto. “Postpone daw ang signing. None. Will inform daw of new date,” he told reporters. “But I just received word now of the postponement. No reason given,” Sotto added. He said ceremonies for other bills for signing were also postponed.

  Lacson: Next gov’t must close P84-billion UHC funding gap  The Universal Health Care Act is still underfunded by about P84 billion—a gap that must be addressed by the next administration to stop hospitals from leaving the state health insurance system for good and prevent the public from suffering even more amid the coronavirus pandemic, Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said. Lacson raised this issue in a recent press conference in Lingayen, Pangasinan as he noted that more private hospitals were cutting ties with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) over unpaid hospitalization claims that reached about P20 billion as of November. The three-term senator said the full implementation of the UHC is crucial for the country to address the pandemic, which is a priority of the Partido Reporma presidential bet. “Our primary program, of course, is to address the pandemic. We have a Universal Health Care Act that was passed in 2018. Unti...

  Sotto slams DOH decision to stop issuing daily COVID-19 bulletin in 2022 Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III thinks there is ‘’hidden agenda’’ behind the decision of the Department of Health to no longer issue daily COVID-19 bulletins. Sotto, a vice presidential aspirant, appeared perplexed by this DOH decision even as the country recorded its fourth Omicron case and daily recorded infections appear on the rise again though it is below the 500 cases daily rate. Told that the DOH would no longer give other details, explanations or context, Sotto said: ‘’May agenda nga (There is an agenda).’’ To senatorial aspirant and former senator Joseph Victor ‘’JV’’ Ejercito, the DOH announcement ‘’is wrong timing as the holidays caused the recent increases of COVID Cases, not to mention that a lot of countries are experiencing surges brought about by the Omicron variant.’’ ‘’All the more it is imperative that the number of cases and the situation should be closely monitored. Complacency wil...