Sen. Panfilo Lacson INQUIRER file photo
Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday said that after two years, it may be “wise and prudent” for President Rodrigo Duterte’s top advisers to go back to the drawing board and reassess what they did wrong and what they’re doing right.
Lacson said this is not only in the fight against crime and corruption, the centerpiece of the Duterte administration’s deliverables, but in the economic sector as well.
“Even during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he persistently pitched for a six-month deadline to solve the drug problem in the country, I already pointed out it was impossible. It remains as impossible as saying he can stop crime,” he said in a statement.
In August last year, Duterte apologized for failing meet his three-to-six-month deadline for eradicating illegal drugs in the country. He said he miscalculated the drug problem and only realized the grave extent of the situation when he became president.
READ: Duterte admits he was wrong on 3-6 months drug war deadline
Lacson said the peace-and-order strategy was “long on crime suppression and short on prevention.”
“It should be the other way around. We prevent crimes, and those that cannot be prevented from being committed must be suppressed with solid solution through efficient investigative work and techniques,” he said.
On the revenue side, Lacson said the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law must be revisited and amended.
“The President, with all his strong influence over Congress, must put his foot down on vested interests of some members of both houses,” he said.
On the expenditure side, the senator called on Duterte to minimize wastage of government’s hard-earned resources by shunning pork barrel.
Lacson said selected members of the Congress still enjoy pork barrel.
“[It] is still evident among selected members of Congress, a few of whom enjoyed as high as nine-figure insertions during the last two budget years under the Duterte administration,” he said. /cbb