Expect rogue Cabinet execs in jail under Lacson-Sotto leadership

 Senator Panfilo Lacson (left) and Senate President Vicente Sotto III. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines— Rogue Cabinet officials will end up in jail should the tandem of Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III win in the 2022 elections.

The stern warning came from Lacson, who once headed the Philippine National Police.

“If we become President and Vice President of this country, Filipinos may yet witness the spectacle of a Cabinet member turned rogue being arrested for extortion,” Lacson said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

“This is the kind of discipline that the Lacson-Sotto leadership intends to instill in government officials,” he added.

Lacson and Sotto are gunning for president and vice president, respectively, in the upcoming elections.

When they launched their tandem last month, the pair also vowed to restore Filipinos’ trust in government.

READ: Lacson, Sotto, vow to restore Filipinos’ trust in the government

“Malaking hamon subali’t kailangang maibalik ang tiwala ng ating mamamayan sa gobyerno at sa mga namumuno. I could not stress it enough — ang tamang pamumuno ay dapat pangunahan ng ‘leadership by example’ — hindi sa salita kundi sa gawa. No leader can succeed if he cannot practice what he preaches,” Lacson said then,

(It is a great challenge but we need to restore the trust of our people in the government and in the leaders of the country. The right leaders must exemplify ‘Leadership by example’ — not by words, but by actions.)

For his part, Sotto said: “Ang isang lipunan ay lalago lamang kung mayroong tiwala: tiwala sa kanilang institusyon, tiwala sa Hukom, tiwala sa kapulisan, tiwala sa gobyerno, tiwala sa mga namumuno, tiwala sa mga mamamayan. tiwala sa isa’t-isa. Hindi tiwali.”

(Only when there is trust will a society flourish. Trust in the institutions. Trust in the courts. Trust in the police. Trust in the government. Trust in leaders. Trust in citizens. Trust in each other. Not corrupt.)

It has been a week since the tandem formalized their candidacies, but they have yet to release their final senatorial slate.

READ: Running mates Lacson, Sotto file COC for 2022 nat’l polls

“As of now, we want to endorse the 14 that we know will be assets to the Senate,” Sotto said in a text message without naming the 14.

“But let’s wait until November 15. Meantime, we are setting up talks with some of them,” he said.

Substitution of candidates for next year’s elections is allowed until November 15.