Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB/FILE)
As Senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III continued their consultations in northern Luzon, the former said on Friday that Filipino voters need to ask themselves if their lives had improved under the leadership of President Duterte.
Lacson, who went to Pangasinan and La Union with Sotto to determine voter support for their presidential and vice presidential bids, said next year’s May 9 elections would be a referendum on the Duterte administration, with the electorate facing two paths.
“It can be simplified in a choice between ‘more of the same’ or ‘change,’” the senator said in a statement.
“If the choice is change, we can simply reject the status quo. If we are happy with what we have become for the last five years, then continuity should be a better option,” Lacson added.
Decision lies with people
He said the voters should ask themselves the following questions:
• Have President Duterte and [Sen. Bong Go] made the lives of Filipinos better, or do things need to be changed or reformed?
• Are Filipinos treated with more respect by the international community or not?
• Is there less corruption now, or is their government more corrupt?
• Are we safer in our homes and in the streets?
• Is poverty up or down?
Ultimately, according to Lacson, the decision “still lies with the people, particularly the electorate who will choose the next leaders of this country,” he said.
Early in June, the 73-year-old Lacson told journalists he was only looking at two choices for 2022: run for president or retire entirely from politics.
If he runs for President, Lacson said he would only run with the 72-year-old Sotto as his running mate.
Consultations
“That’s cast in stone already,” Lacson said in a video conference with journalists on June 8. “In case we decide, that only the Senate President would be my [Vice President]. We have agreed on that.”
Lacson clarified that should he decide not to run for President, he would still help Sotto campaign for the office he chooses.
On Thursday, Lacson and Sotto embarked on the first leg of a series of consultations in Luzon to determine if they could muster popular support should they run.
They stopped at the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos City to “seek God’s guidance and wisdom” before meeting with local officials there.
Sotto earlier said he would “definitely” team up with Lacson in the 2022 polls if the latter decided to join the presidential race.
“We are seriously contemplating it because there are some groups and some sectors that have approached me and Sen. Lacson. If Sen. Lacson decides to run for President, I will definitely be his running mate,” he said.