Keeping the national budget for the coming years fat-free will be crucial in helping the country recover from the effects of the pandemic, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Friday.
He aired his support for the National Economic and Development Authority’s fiscal consolidation plan for the next President, who will start a six-year term on June 30.
“Thank you NEDA. This is what I’ve always been saying during budget deliberations. With a yearly average of P328B unused appropriations for the past 10 years (2010-2020) and P700B in misused/abused budget each year, there couldn’t be a better advice,” Lacson, who is running for President under Partido Reporma, said on his Twitter account.
Meanwhile, with the downward trend in new COVID-19 cases, Lacson urged Filipinos to become local tourists once again and visit the Philippines’ best spots before choosing to roam abroad.
With many areas reopening to business and majority of Filipinos already having complete doses of the coronavirus vaccine, Lacson said it was a good time to patronize our own country’s tourist spots.
Speaking after his recent two-day visit to Baguio City with running mate Senate President Sotto III, Lacson admitted he himself had not visited some parts of the Philippines. He wishes to discover more of the hidden destinations in the country.
Lacson was referring to the lack of proper planning that led to an average of P328 billion in appropriations in the budget going unused every year from 2010 to 2020 – and corruption that led to the loss of some P700 billion a year, quoting a statement from former Deputy Ombudsman Cyril Ramos.
The NEDA is now crafting the plan to repay the country’s ballooning debt and narrow the budget deficit caused by the pandemic.
Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon was quoted in reports as saying the plan will include proposed cuts on non-priority budget items.
During his 18 years as senator, Lacson earned a reputation as an eagle-eyed watchdog of the national budget, flagging questionable appropriations and pushing to have them deleted from the budget measure.
Lacson, who is running with vice presidential bet Senate President Vicente Sotto III under a platform of fixing the government’s woes (Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay ng Bawat Pilipino) and going after thieves in government (Uubusin ang Magnanakaw), has said that should he be elected into office this May, he will introduce much-needed reforms to the preparation and implementation of the budget, which he described as the lifeblood of the nation.
These reforms include, among others, a zero-based budgeting system instead of a budget ceiling; and a combination of strict fiscal discipline and leadership by example.
Meanwhile, Lacson said that up to this day, he could not forget the directive he gave his subordinates as a provincial police chief to shoot him at their camp’s flagpole once they prove he took money from illegal gambling operations like “jueteng.”
Among the many moments that have tested his integrity was his stint as Laguna police director that cemented his “leadership by example” mantra.
“How will I then be tempted to accept jueteng bribes? What if my policemen did shoot me, tie me to the flagpole?” the former soldier and national police chief added.
Lacson revealed that “jueteng lords” in Laguna had offered him as much as P1.8 million a month just for his silence on their illegal gambling operations in the province.
“I didn’t need to do anything, just look the other way, not arrest anyone – just that. You know, when you count it – what I do is I don’t count, because that’s when you get tempted; at P1.8 million, even if you say at just P1 million a month – a month, not a year (is a lot of money).”