Ang tama ay IPAGLABAN. Ang mali ay LABANAN.
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer: Former Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has suggested that Congress make the bicameral conference committee meetings on the proposed 2025 national budget accessible to the media and the public for the sake of transparency.
Continue reading “Lacson wants bicam budget talks open to public for transparency [Inquirer]”
Siniguro ni Senador Ping Lacson nitong Huwebes na kanyang bibigyang halaga ang malayang pamamahayag at pagiging transparent sa ilalim ng kanyang pamumuno.
Para kay Lacson na tumatakbo sa pagka-Pangulo sa ilalim ng Partido Reporma, walang dahilan ang gobyerno para magtago ng kahit ano kung wala naman itong ginagawang masama sa taumbayan.
“Una, ang freedom of the press hindi lang importante sa demokrasya. It is democracy itself,” ani Lacson sa kauna-unahang LACSON-SOTTO media forum.
Related: Lacson Presidency to Put Premium on Press Freedom, Transparency
Continue reading “Ping, Pahahalagahan ang Kalayaan sa Pamamahayag at Transparency sa Kanyang Pamumuno”
Freedom of the media and transparency of government will get a premium under a Lacson presidency, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Thursday.
Lacson, who is running for President under Partido Reporma, said there is no reason for the government to hide what it is doing if it is not involved in any wrongdoing.
“Una, ang freedom of the press hindi lang importante sa demokrasya. It is democracy itself (Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy. It is democracy itself),” he said at the first LACSON-SOTTO media forum.
Related: Ping, Pahahalagahan ang Kalayaan sa Pamamahayag at Transparency sa Kanyang Pamumuno
Continue reading “Lacson Presidency to Put Premium on Press Freedom, Transparency”
First, the Commission on Audit is a constitutional body which is independent of the executive or legislative branches of government, and certainly not under the Office of the President of the Republic. It has a mandate to perform, and no one can dictate on them.
Second, COA findings and recommendations are public documents. Transparency dictates that the public must be informed of how public monies are spent.
That said, the President is out of line in publicly castigating the COA, which is just performing its mandate and responsibility to the people and the Constitution.
For its part, the COA should not be cowed by intimidating statements, even those coming from the Chief Executive. In fact, those in the COA should proceed with more vigor, courage and independence.
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I don’t agree on anything that is not transparent, especially if it concerns the national budget. While the bicameral conference committee may have been reduced to a “Committee of Two,” it is not exactly the case.
In fact, I already instructed my staff to coordinate closely with the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) on whatever movements of funds before the final version of the bill is presented to the bicam members for our signatures and approval.
Also, I practically demanded that I be furnished with a copy of the details of the Senate version before the convening of the bicameral conference, as what we had until yesterday morning was only the summary of the Senate version.
Having said all that, we already found some realignments that may seem questionable, based on our preliminary examination. For instance, while some of my recommended slash from the Department of Public Works and Highways’ budget was adopted, we also noticed at least P10 billion worth of infrastructure projects realigned within the same agency under the Senate version.
While we can identify the locations of the Senate-realigned projects, we may not be able to identify the senator-proponents. This is the reason why I have always called for transparency in all our individual amendments by posting the same on our official websites for the media and the public to see.
As I already stated, these are very preliminary even as we continue our scrutiny of the budget measure. Thus the importance of transparency cannot be emphasized enough.
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