SENATOR Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday said that the Philippines badly needs the kind of politics that is anchored on service, not the one based on self-interest.

Lacson’s statement came as Filipinos continue to feel the brunt of the pandemic and the effects of Typhoon Odette.

“During a pandemic and after a calamity, two kinds of politics emerge — the politics of service helps the victims; the politics of interest helps the politicians,” the chairman and standard-bearer of Partido Reporma said.

Lacson commended the government troops who continue to conduct relief missions for victims of “Odette,” which devastated several areas in the country late last year.

Earlier, he thanked the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard for quietly helping deliver relief assistance to areas hit by the typhoon.

“When the cameras and photo ops stop and the victims are in danger of being forgotten, that’s when the real heroes emerge,” Lacson said.