Lacson hits use of gov’t programs by politicians

Senator Ping Lacson

MANILA, Philippines — Unscrupulous politicians have been using the government’s livelihood programs to pressure local officials against supporting candidates of the opposition, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Monday.

Lacson said he has been receiving reports from their supporters in the provinces on how the “Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad)” and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) were supposedly being used to discourage local politicians from supporting candidates that do not belong to the administration.

“I cannot understand for the life of me why such government programs will be coursed through some politicians … because we’re getting feedback from local officials who are sympathetic, supportive of us who are asking permission if they can join caravans of another candidate, because if they do not contribute [warm bodies] and vehicles, they will not be given Tupad or AICS,” he said.

Job placement

Lacson was referring to a government program under the Department of Labor and Employment, which is described by the agency as a “community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers.”

The job placement for displaced workers usually lasts for a minimum of 10 days, but not to exceed a maximum of 30 days, doing tasks such as repair and maintenance of roads and other public facilities such as schools and health centers; debris clearing, waste collection and segregation; and declogging of canals; as well as tree planting, seedling preparation and reforestation.

‘It’s public money anyway’

Tupad has been widely used to aid workers displaced by job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AICS, on the other hand, is part of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s “protective services for the poor, marginalized and vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals, and involves the giving of financial assistance for medical, transportation, financial, burial and other needs.”

Lacson, who is running for president as standard-bearer of Partido Reporma alongside Senate President Vicente Sotto III, said he received the reports as his campaign team intensified its activities in the countryside, tapping the assistance of local governments.

With such a condition, Lacson said he has been encouraging his supporters to join activities of other candidates in order not to deprive them of benefiting from the programs and reap the benefits of their contribution to the nation through the taxes they pay.

“I just tell them, ‘just join them, because that is public money anyway,’ but our leaders are resisting supposedly because it might send a wrong message to our supporters,” he said.

He also expressed dismay over a rival presidential aspirant, Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso’s response to reports that police in the city of Manila were supposedly banning the use of face masks from the Lacson-Sotto team.

“The least that I expected for him was to say ‘we will have this investigated.’ But I was surprised when the response that he gave was that he does not listen to gossip,” he said. INQ