To the Inquirer: Please allow us to set the record straight regarding some points in the column of Anna Cristina Tuazon (“Institutionalizing children as breadwinners,” 7/17/25), where she shared her thoughts on Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s Senate Bill No. 396, the proposed Parents Welfare Act of 2025.
Ping Lacson Bill Mandates 1% Share of VAT Collections for LGU Development Projects
Local government units (LGUs) that collect their taxes efficiently may soon avail of a special fund to finance their local development projects, programs and activities, once a bill filed by Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson is passed into law.
Senate Bill 405, which Lacson filed last July 9, mandates the allocation of one percent of total Value-Added Tax (VAT) collections to finance such local development projects – and could motivate other LGUs to improve their tax collection as well.
“This bill intends to incentivize local government units (LGUs) that consistently achieve their revenue collection targets and substantially contribute to the national coffers. Such incentives are designed to serve as motivation for LGUs to facilitate business operations and reduce barriers for small entrepreneurs, hence, further enhancing tax collection efficiencies,” Lacson, a champion of LGUs, said in his bill titled “The Local Government Development Fund Act of 2025.”
“Giving the LGUs the necessary wherewithal to be active participants in the development of our country will contribute to dismantling the culture of mendicancy and political patronage that viciously thrive in our system. Ultimately, this will help in the realization of the elusive inclusive growth that the Filipinos all aspire for as a nation,” he added.
In Filipino: Panukala ni Ping Lacson, Magbibigay ng 1% Share ng VAT Collection sa LGU Development Projects
Ping Lacson Corrects Misconceptions, Insinuations on Proposed Parents Welfare Act
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson corrected late Wednesday several misconceptions and insinuations raised by some sectors about Senate Bill 396, the proposed “Parents Welfare Act of 2025.”
Lacson said his bill, which aims to ensure parents get support from their children in their time of need, does not include parents who have abused, hurt, or neglected their children.
“Abuse, abandonment or neglect by parents of their children are exempting circumstances. Under the proposed measure, walang obligasyon ang anak na magsuporta sa magulang na nang-abuso, nag-abandon at nagpabaya sa kanya (the child has no obligation to support parents who abused, abandoned, or neglected him/her),” he said.
In Filipino: Ping Lacson, Itinama ang Maling Akala Tungkol sa Panukalang “Parents Welfare Act”
Related: Ping Lacson Files ‘Parents Welfare Act’ Bill to Strengthen Filial Responsibility
Continue reading “Ping Lacson Corrects Misconceptions, Insinuations on Proposed Parents Welfare Act”
Ping Lacson Bill Frees MAIFIP from Politics, Consolidates It Under Universal Health Care Act
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson has filed a bill seeking to free the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) Program of the Department of Health from politics, by placing it under the framework of the Universal Health Care Act – and penalizing political exploitation and manipulation of the program.
In Senate Bill 404 titled the “Universal Medical Assistance Act of 2025,” Lacson said this consolidation will eliminate “overlaps and redundancies” with other medical assistance programs implemented across various government agencies.
“By consolidating MAIFIP within the framework of the UHC, we can effectively address the issue of payment delays for medical services rendered by DOH-licensed and/or accredited health facilities because of political interference. The proposed legislation also aims to eliminate the politicization of the program, thus curbing the culture of mendicancy and political patronage,” he said.
“A coherent and unified health system under Universal Healthcare must be established to effectively address the needs of indigent and marginalized families. Individuals, regardless of economic status, who suffer from catastrophic illnesses and similar medical conditions and its corresponding substantial financial burdens, should meaningfully benefit from the government’s comprehensive safety net and enjoy affordable and accessible health services — free from political interventions that shamelessly exploit government programs to curry public favor,” he added.
In Filipino: Panukala ni Ping Lacson, Aalisin ang Pamumulitika sa MAIFIP
Ping Lacson Files ‘Parents Welfare Act’ Bill to Strengthen Filial Responsibility
To strengthen Filipinos’ family ties and sense of filial responsibility, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson has filed a proposed “Parents Welfare Act of 2025,” ensuring that elderly parents are not abandoned by their children in their time of need.
Lacson’s Senate Bill 396, which he had also filed in previous Congresses, seeks to penalize those who fail to provide the necessary support to their aging, sick and incapacitated parents.
“We, Filipinos, are well-known for our close family ties. Because of this, it is not surprising that we have the usual inclination to care for our elderly. However, even with this close family ties, there are cases of elderly, sick, and incapacitated parents who were abandoned by their own children. Nowadays, the sights of abandoned elderly in our streets become typical. Children fail to provide the necessary support to their aging, sick and incapacitated parents. This happens despite our moral and natural obligation to maintain our parents who are in need of support,” he said.
“This proposed bill therefore seeks to further strengthen filial responsibility and to make it a criminal offense in case of flagrant violation thereof. Abandonment of a parent in need of support shall likewise constitute a criminal act,” he added.
In Filipino: Ping Lacson, Naghain ng ‘Parents Welfare Act’ Bill para Pagtibayin ang Pamilya
Continue reading “Ping Lacson Files ‘Parents Welfare Act’ Bill to Strengthen Filial Responsibility”