Sen. Panfilo Lacson
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson called on Filipino voters to choose a leader in the 2022 elections who will set and follow a “single standard” instead of being “selective” in dealing with corruption.
“Kailangan single standard, hindi selective; na pag kakampi libre, pag hindi kaalyado, pwedeng tuluyan,” Lacson told local reporters in La Union.
“If your subordinates so much as see you violating your own standards, why would they follow your orders? That is why there is no substitute for leadership by example,” he added, as quoted in a statement released by his office Saturday.
This, as he cited his previous experience as chief of the Philippine National Police from 1999 to 2001.
He said the “culture of kotong” stopped during his time and his subordinates observed a strict “no-take policy” because he followed a single standard and also “showed leadership by example.”
‘Ang babaw ng kaligayahan ng botante’
Lacson, meanwhile, reiterated his concerns over the country’s electorate, most of whom, he said, are sometimes swayed by jokes and entertainment during campaigns.
“Ang babaw ng kaligayahan ng botante. Ma-entertain lang, mamura lang, mabiro lang, minsan nadadala. Napakalungkot,” he said.
“My hope and prayer is that the campaign leading to the May 2022 polls will be a campaign of issues, and not a campaign of entertainment,” he added.
‘Most serious’ decision
Lacson said that with the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 elections may just be the “most serious and important” one in recent Philippine history.
In selecting the country’s next leaders wisely, the senator said voters must consider current problems and issues hounding the country.
“This is serious, very serious especially because of the pandemic. I think the decision we will make in 2022 is the most serious and important decision we all have to make and we should really think carefully,” Lacson said.
Among the immediate problems facing the Philippines, according to Lacson, is the country’s PP11.071 trillion debt and the possibility that it may swell further before the end of the Duterte administration.
“There are now 110 million Filipinos. Easily each of us, even those born just today, will already be saddled with a debt of P100,000,” Lacson said.
Further, he stressed the need for a leader who is capable of bridging the disconnect between the national government and the needs and priorities of the local government.
Lacson was with Senate President Vicente Sotto III in a consultative tour in Luzon. The two are considering running for higher office in 2022, with Lacson as president and Sotto as his vice president.
The two senators, however, have yet to finalize their plans for the next year’s polls as they make consultations with different sectors.