In a letter dated Sept. 19, 2019, Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro lobbied with Sen. Lacson for financial assistance to construct a municipal building for Dumalag town, costing P258 million. The stamp indicating the time and date it was received at Sen. Lacson’s office belies Castro’s claim that the lobbying was ‘fictional.’
View FullscreenIn an interview, Sen. Lacson answered questions on:
– ‘ceasefire’ with some House members on 2020 budget
– call from the House to cut the Senate’s budget
– passage of 2020 budget in the Senate in 2-3 weeks
QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “#PingSays: Tuloy ang Pagbusisi sa Budget! | Sept. 26, 2019”
I was alone in this fight against pork for a long time. Now that many like-minded colleagues in the Senate are equally committed to do the same, with more reason I should be more vigilant.
The whining and howling of Congressman Castro and his like-minded colleagues will not distract me from performing my mandate of scrutinizing the budget measure.
As for those House members who abused the hard-earned money of taxpayers for the longest time that they availed of ‘pork,’ they are the ones who should apologize to the Filipino people.
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In an interview, Sen. Lacson answered questions on:
– ‘aborted’ pork insertion in the 2020 national budget
– Senate panel decision on ‘ninja cops’
QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “#PingSays: On ‘Aborted’ Pork in the 2020 Budget; ‘Ninja Cops’ | Sept. 25, 2019”
At the hearing on the 2020 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Sen. Lacson raised several questions involving the agency’s use of funds for infrastructure projects. “Sabi kasi ni Senate President, we will go through the budget with a fine-toothed comb. So we are going through all this.”
Sen. Lacson questioned the lodging of two-thirds of the DPWH’s budget in the central office ; unrecouped advance payments to erring contractors ; and the delay and/or non-implementation of projects due to poor planning . He inquired as well if the issue involving road-right-of-way (RROW) has become a hopeless case .
But he also made clear these are not the only questionable cases, adding this is not to find fault. “We are going through all this. This is not to find fault but for (our) future reference.”
QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “FINE-TOOTHED COMB: Sen. Lacson Poses Questions at the 2020 Budget Hearing for the DPWH”
In an interview, Sen. Lacson answered questions on:
– hazing at PMA
– possible pork in the 2020 budget
– corruption at BuCor
QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “#PingSays: On Hazing at PMA; Possible Pork in 2020 Budget | Sept. 23, 2019”
Sen. Lacson chaired the hearing for the 2020 budgets of the Southern Philippines Development Authority, Mindanao Development Authority, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process.
Lacson advised the SPDA to find ways to make its revenue-generating projects more competitive, and consider privatizing or offering for sale the projects that are losing money for government. He urged the OPAPP to coordinate with the appropriate agencies on funding and security of projects in conflict-affected areas.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lacson lauded the MinDA for its fruit festival program bringing Mindanao farmers’ produce to other parts of the country, and vice-versa. “That’s very creative and innovative,” he said.
He indicated the additional funding requests that can be justified could be addressed via “pork” funds that may be found in – and excised from – the proposed 2020 budget. “Maghahanap ako ng pork na makakaltasan,” he said.
QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “‘Maghahanap Ako ng Pork na Makakaltasan’: Sen. Lacson Chairs the 2020 Budget Hearings for OPAPP, SPDA and MinDA”
In an interview on DWIZ, Sen. Lacson answered questions on:
– corruption and other irregularities at the Bureau of Corrections
– transfer of high-profile convicts to Marines facility from New Bilibid Prison
– possible attempts to insert pork in the 2020 budget
QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “Interview on DWIZ: Corruption at BuCor; Hunting Pork in 2020 Budget | Sept. 7, 2019”
Muling hinikayat ni Senador Panfilo Lacson ang publiko na tumulong sa pagbabantay sa gagawing deliberasyon ng lehislatura sa mahigit P4 trilyong panukalang badyet para sa 2020.
Ito ay upang hindi na makalusot pa ang pork barrel at mga walang kabuluhang alokasyon na taun-taon na lamang ay isinisingit ng mga tiwaling mambabatas at opisyal.
“Any technical support from the outside will certainly help in our scrutiny of the 2020 budget books,” pahayag ni Lacson sa kanyang Twitter account.
Bilang nangunguna sa kampanya laban sa katiwalian at pork barrel sa pambansang gastusin, isiniwalat ni Lacson na malaki ang maitutulong kung sasamahan siya ng publiko sa pagsuri sa mga pondong inilalaan sa mga proyekto.
“This is taxpayers’ money we are talking about. We should not allow a greedy few to lay their grubby hands on it, to put it mildly,” mariing paalala ni Lacson sa publiko.
Related: Hide and Seek: Lacson Enlists Public’s Help in Tracking Down Pork in 2020 Budget
Continue reading “Ping sa Publiko: Sama-sama Tayo sa Pagkapa sa Pork sa 2020 Budget”
As he prepares to engage in yet another protracted game of “hide-and-seek” against pork in the 2020 national budget, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson is enlisting the help of the public – especially fellow taxpayers – in exposing such dubious insertions and useless appropriations.
Lacson, an untiring watchdog of the national budget and avowed enemy of the pork barrel system, said any forensic or technical help from outside Congress would greatly help in exposing and removing pork in the spending bill.
“Any technical support from the outside will certainly help in our scrutiny of the 2020 budget books,” he said in a post on his Twitter account.
He also sought support from the people in watching the budget process, to remove the pork that caused the delay in the passage of the 2019 budget.
“This is taxpayers’ money we are talking about. We should not allow a greedy few to lay their grubby hands on it, to put it mildly,” he stressed.
Related: Ping sa Publiko: Sama-sama Tayo sa Pagkapa sa Pork sa 2020 Budget
Continue reading “Hide and Seek: Lacson Enlists Public’s Help in Tracking Down Pork in 2020 Budget”
