Tag: Senate President Tito Sotto

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Lacson: No Holiday Furlough for Discaya, 3 Former DPWH Engineers

Due to security concerns, there will be no holiday furlough for contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and three former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers detained in the Senate in connection with the flood control project scandal, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Tuesday.

Lacson, who also chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probing the issue, said Senate President Vicente Sotto III approved his recommendation to deny the leave requests of Discaya and former engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza and Henry Alcantara.

“I recommended to the Senate President that their request for Christmas furlough be denied mainly for security reasons, owing to the repeated media statements from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that arrest warrants against them will be issued before Christmas,” Lacson said.

“So the risk of escape becomes greater – not to mention that it makes no sense to grant such requests for Christmas leave if indeed warrants are coming out by then,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Walang Holiday Furlough para kina Discaya, 3 Dating Inhinyero ng DPWH

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Lacson: Senators Elected in 2025 Not Included in Leviste Claim on Budget Insertions

Senators who were elected last May are not among those who had budget insertions in the 2025 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as claimed by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said.

Lacson said the records cited by Leviste, which supposedly showed senators’ insertions in the DPWH’s 2025 budget amounting to P120 billion, refer to a budget that was approved by the 19th Congress, months before the May midterm elections.

“Congressman Leviste should at least qualify his statement with the phrase ‘in the 19th Congress’ in fairness to the new members of the 20th Congress, including myself and Senate President Vicente Sotto III, among others,” he said.

“That said, even during the previous Congresses, I never partook of allocables or pork barrel allocations, or whatever names they were called,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Mga Senador na Nahalal noong Mayo, Hindi Kabilang sa Mga Mayroong 2025 Budget Insertions

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Lacson: We Stand Four-Square Behind the Senate Panel to Uphold Full Transparency in Budget Bill

We stand four-square behind the efforts of the Senate panel behind Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian to uphold full transparency in the 2026 budget bill.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson stressed this Tuesday amid another issue that surfaced, this time involving farm-to-market (FMR) road projects that were not properly identified.

He said this came as two other issues involving the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s appeal to restore its budget cuts are nearing a resolution after DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon apologized to the Senate for submitting “insufficient data” during the bicameral deliberations.

“With equal urgency and importance is the new FMR issue raised by Sen. Francis Pangilinan. At least P5 billion worth of FMR projects are not properly identified, even revised from what the Senate approved on third reading: no grid coordinates, description, etc. Based on our majority caucus yesterday, we cannot and will not allow that. For the sake of full transparency, we stand four-square behind our panel under the leadership of its chairman, Sen. Gatchalian,” Lacson said.

In Filipino: Lacson: Buo ang Suporta sa Senate Panel para Itaguyod ang Ganap na Transparency sa Budget Bill

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Opening Prayer at the Senate Regular Session | August 24, 2021

“God of all grace, Trinity of love, source and protector of all life, bestow upon us Thy gracious mercy. In times of uncertainty and distress, may Thy Spirit rise to banish all our worries and fears. May Thy Holiness touch the weak, the frightened, and the ill.

Bigyan mo po ng sapat na kalusugan ang aming kasamang Sen. Lito Lapid at lahat ng mga kawani ng Senado na mayroon ding karamdaman upang maigupo nila ang Covid-19 virus sa lalong madaling panahon.

Aming dasal ng pasasalamat din na ligtas sa anumang kapansanan ang nag-iisa at nananatiling People’s Champ, Sen. Manny Pacquiao.

Isang natatanging dasal para sa kaligtasan at kalusugan ng Pangulo ng Senado, Vicente Sotto III, na nagdiriwang ng kanyang kaarawan sa araw na ito.

May the strength of Thy hand fill our hearts with eternal love, as we continue to become vessels of Thy will and glory. This we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

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On President Duterte’s VP ‘Endorsement’ for 2022 Polls

It won’t matter to my and Senate President Sotto’s determination to run in the May 2022 national elections. We have already declared, and at this point in time, there is no turning back.

That said, we continue to hope that the electorate will not be swayed by entertainment politics, nor affected by fear and intimidation when they choose our country’s next leaders.

As long as the campaign runs on issues involving our people’s desire for good governance made possible by fixing a systematically broken government, we are good.

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