Sen. Ping Lacson and Senate President Tito Sotto attend a Senate Committee of the Whole hearing on agricultural smuggling April 12, 2022.
Tag: Committee of the Whole
Huwag nang gawing kumplikado ang puwede namang maging simple.
Ito ang panawagan ni Senador Panfilo Lacson sa mga awtoridad kaugnay sa pagpasok sa bansa ng mga donasyon na COVID-19 vaccines na mayroon nang Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) sa mga lugar na may mahigpit na regulatory agencies.
Ang panawagan ay ginawa ng mambabatas sa pangatlong pagdinig na isinagawa ng Senado bilang Committee of the Whole tungkol sa vaccination program ng pamahalaan.
“This is critical because there are many associations abroad that may donate vaccines to their sister cities in the Philippines. Would it not be more practical to ensure the goods reach the intended recipients directly under strict supervision and guidance by health authorities, instead of coursing the goods through the Department of Health and having the DOH distribute them?” banggit ni Lacson.
Related: Lacson: Simplify Procedures for Entry of Donated Vaccines
Continue reading “Ping: Kung May EUA sa Pinagmula, Donasyong Bakuna Padaliin ang Pagpasok sa Bansa”
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson sought simplified procedures Friday for the entry of donated COVID-19 vaccines, especially those with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from countries or territories with stringent regulatory agencies.
Lacson made the call during the third hearing of the Senate, convening as a Committee of the Whole, on the government’s vaccination program.
“This is critical because there are many associations abroad that may donate vaccines to their sister cities in the Philippines. Would it not be more practical to ensure the goods reach the intended recipients directly under strict supervision and guidance by health authorities, instead of coursing the goods through the Department of Health and having the DOH distribute them?” he said.
“Besides, many local government units like Baguio City already have their own cold storage facilities for the vaccines, as their local leaders had the foresight to act accordingly. Allowing such donated vaccines to go directly to the LGUs instead of having to go through the logistical requirements of the DOH and Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 would also avoid the prospect of double handling and additional costs,” he added.
Related: Ping: Kung May EUA sa Pinagmula, Donasyong Bakuna Padaliin ang Pagpasok sa Bansa
Continue reading “Lacson: Simplify Procedures for Entry of Donated Vaccines”

Dapat na alam ng mga frontliner ang detalye ng vaccination plan ng pamahalaan – kung talagang may ganoong plano.
Ipinunto ni Senador Panfilo Lacson na isa ito sa pagtutuunan niya ng pansin sa pagdinig na isasagawa ng Senado sa pamamagitan ng Committee of the Whole sa Lunes.
Ayon sa mambabatas, mga frontliners ang nasa bungad ng panganib sa pagharap ng Pilipinas sa pandemya ng COVID-19 kung kaya’t tama lamang na maimpormahan ang mga ito sa mga galaw ng pamahalaan tungkol sa bakuna.
“The frontliners deserve to know because they are the ones who go to the morgues, they are the ones who attend to COVID patients. They deserve to know if they would be prioritized in the vaccination program. There is no reason for the officials concerned to ask for an executive session on this because there is nothing confidential or classified about it. Wala namang kalaban dito; ang kalaban natin dito, sakit. Hindi naman yan sasagot,” banggit ni Lacson sa panayam sa DZBB.
Related: Lacson: Frontliners Deserve to Know Details of Overall Vaccination Plan
Continue reading “Ping: Frontliners, Naghihintay Kung Kailan at Paano Mababakunahan”

Frontliners who have risked their lives amid the ongoing pandemic deserve to know the details of the government’s overall vaccination plan – if there is one, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Sunday.
Lacson said this is one of the points he will pursue when the Senate Committee of the Whole holds its first hearing on the matter on Monday.
“Do we have a clear vaccination plan? Based on our conversations with doctors and frontliners, it appears we don’t. But frontliners are waiting to know when they would be prioritized in the vaccination program,” he said in an interview on DZBB.
“The frontliners deserve to know because they are the ones who go to the morgues, they are the ones who attend to COVID patients. They deserve to know if they would be prioritized in the vaccination program. There is no reason for the officials concerned to ask for an executive session on this because there is nothing confidential or classified about it. Wala namang kalaban dito; ang kalaban natin dito, sakit. Hindi naman yan sasagot,” he added.
Related: Ping: Frontliners, Naghihintay Kung Kailan at Paano Mababakunahan
Continue reading “Lacson: Frontliners Deserve to Know Details of Overall Vaccination Plan”
I want to read the full text of the report first so I can make a more intelligent analysis and responsive comments.
That said, let me just say at the outset that obviously, the materials that we provided and shared with Sec. Guevarra and the composite task force were put into good use at the very least. This is good reason enough to feel gratified that we did our share in taking the first big step in making those criminally and administratively liable for the misuse and abuse of public monies accountable.
At least, for a change, we can hope that these “vultures” will suffer for their misdeeds to satisfy their greed at the expense of the sick and the unhealthy among our countrymen.
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Sen. Lacson’s Opening Statement at the Senate Committee of the Whole Hearing on Corruption at PhilHealth:
Sa nakaraang dalawang araw na pagdinig ng komite ng buong Senado na ating isinagawa sa kasalukuyan, buong singkad na maghapon nang parehong araw ng Martes, pinaligiran po tayo ng mga sinungaling at mga manloloko. Sabi nga ng nanay ng kasama nating Senator Grace Poe – “Ang sinungaling ay kapatid ng magnanakaw!”
Let me prove what I just said, Mr. President and distinguished colleagues.
Only last week, I asked Fund Management Sector Senior Vice President Renato Limsiaco, Jr., why despite PhilHealth being a withholding tax agent of the BIR, he failed to deduct and withhold from the funds advanced to the private hospitals and other health care institutions the taxes due them under the National Internal Revenue Code.
Continue reading “May Maliligo sa Kaso! Senate Hearing on Corruption at PhilHealth”
Sen. Lacson’s Opening Statement at the Senate Committee of the Whole Hearing on Corruption at PhilHealth:
SP Sotto and I filed SRN 475, later co-authored by almost all the members of this present Senate, after a number of PhilHealth officials, both incumbent or recently resigned, sought our intervention to help them “drain the swamp,” as American politicians would love to say when they see the need to root out corruption.
And for good reason. PhilHealth is a murky, stinking swamp that many of its good and well-meaning people from the officials to their rank-and-file employees want drained, not just of some corrupt but well-entrenched officials who do not seem to run out of malevolent schemes to enrich themselves, but of a deeply rooted, mafia-like syndicate that controls the resources of the corporation, and habitually manipulate its financial records, that even the COA seems helpless in the conduct of their regular audit.
If we look closely enough, the story only revolves around the same cast of characters – a circle of high-ranking officials who manage to hog their seats despite the change of leadership and detailed anomalies that we already unearthed in the past.
In an interview with Senate media, Sen. Lacson answers questions on:
* Senate Committee of the Whole hearing on corruption at PhilHealth on Aug. 4
* Calls for DOH Secretary Duque’s resignation
* Medical frontliners’ plight
QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “#PINGterview: Senate Hearing on PhilHealth Corruption | August 3, 2020”