Tag: President Bongbong Marcos

Statements

On the President’s Call for Cabinet Secretaries’ Courtesy Resignations

More than recalibrating his administration by calling for the courtesy resignations of his Cabinet members, the President must exercise his “persuasive” powers over Congress, especially the House of Representatives, to get rid of indiscriminate and self-aggrandizing “insertions” and “pork barrel” in the forthcoming congressional deliberations of the 2026 budget measure.

The 2025 General Appropriations Act is like a deadly virus that is choking the country to perdition. With the President taking the lead in at least tempering the insatiable greed of some legislators, I vow to do my share in helping him come up with a national budget that is truly responsive to the people’s clamor for sanity and a little timidity among the members of Congress in addressing the needs of their constituents.

With the exception of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), eliminating all other forms of “ayuda” and integrating them under the 4Ps in the National Expenditure Program all the way to the Enrolled Bill should be a good start. As I have consistently posited – AKAP, AICS, TUPAD, MAIFIP and similar social services programs may be integrated under the 4Ps in compliance with RA 11310, which I intend to amend through a bill that I will file when I assume office as an elected Senator of the Republic.

It is time to give the Filipino people a chance to benefit more from the taxes that they pay out of their hard-earned money.

*****

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Ping Lacson Backs PBBM as Observer in Budget Deliberations

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s prospective role as an observer in the bicameral deliberations on the 2026 national budget should send a “clear and strong signal” to Congress against making a mockery of the budget process.

On this note, Senator-elect Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson supported Wednesday the President’s intention to keep tabs on the budget process, including possibly sitting as an observer at the bicameral conference committee.

“As long as the President will not actively participate in the bicameral conference deliberations and just sit as an observer, lest he be misunderstood as encroaching in the time-honored tradition of the legislature’s exercise of the ‘power of the purse,’ I support such gesture as it will send a clear and very strong signal to the members of Congress not to make a mockery of our role in the budget process and that we should not treat the national budget as individual prerogatives, not aligned with the policy direction of the administration towards achieving the country’s development goals in 2026 and beyond,” Lacson said.

In Filipino: Ping Lacson, Suportado ang Pagiging Observer ni PBBM sa Budget Deliberations

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Ping Lacson: President Needs ‘Bastonero’ to Make Gov’t Toe the Line for Good Governance

While President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. still has enough time to make the needed adjustments to deliver good governance in the last three years of his term, he will need a trusted “bastonero” to make government officials under him toe the line.

Senator-elect Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson stressed this on Tuesday as he noted the President’s good intentions in setting aside politics and being open to reconciling with the Duterte family may be interpreted by some as “weakness.”

“The openness to reconcile with the Duterte family is very typical of PBBM as a person. Yet his kindness and the goodness of his heart in dealing with people are being interpreted by both his allies and adversaries as a weakness of his leadership. That said, he may need a strong but well-intentioned ‘bastonero’ in his Cabinet who is capable of making government officials, including members of Congress, toe the line towards good governance,” he said.

“However, the bastonero himself/herself cannot be abusive. The bastonero must be strong but well-intentioned,” he added.

In Filipino: Ping Lacson: Kailangan ng Pangulo ng ‘Bastonero’ para Matiyak ang Good Governance

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Integrating Ayudas Under 4Ps Tops Ping Lacson’s Legislative Agenda

Integrating all forms of “ayuda” under the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) program will top the legislative agenda of incoming Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson in the 20th Congress.

Lacson said Monday that this is part of his push for good governance, along with an intensified scrutiny of the national budget bill, upon his return to the Senate.

“This early, I have instructed my prospective legislative staff to draft an amendment to Republic Act 11310, the law on the 4Ps program, to expand it and address the sectors covered by the other forms of ayuda that have become confusing and have become a political tool used by some politicians for their campaigns, both during and outside of the campaign period,” Lacson said in Filipino, in an interview on Bombo Radyo Philippines.

“Expanding the 4Ps will be better because the 4Ps has a data-driven list of beneficiaries; unlike other ayuda programs that are indiscriminate and are prone to duplication like TUPAD, AKAP, AICS and MAIP,” he added.

In Filipino: Integrated Ayuda sa Ilalim ng 4Ps, Isusulong ni Ping Lacson

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Ping Lacson Hopes New Pope Will be Instrumental in Ending World Conflicts; Prays for Peaceful PH Polls

Independent senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson is hoping the new head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, will be instrumental in ending conflicts around the world – even as he prayed for peaceful and honest elections in the Philippines.

At the press conference of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate in Mandaluyong City Friday afternoon, Lacson said many of these conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, could have adverse effects on the Philippines.

“Before praying for the Philippines, we need prayers for world peace, and an end to conflicts around the world,” Lacson said in Filipino.

“Such conflicts may affect the Philippines so we must pray that Pope Leo XIV will be instrumental in resolving them,” he added.

Related: Ping Lacson, Umaasa na Maging Susi ang Bagong Santo Papa sa Kapayapaan sa Mundo; Nananalangin para sa Matagumpay na Halalan

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