SENATORIAL aspirant Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson vows to prioritize measures ensuring sufficient funding for education and health, should he secure a new mandate in the Senate.

Lacson believes this can be achieved by identifying less useful and questionable appropriations in the budget and realigning them to support these critical programs.

“Such appropriations can be repurposed as seed money. In 2016, I questioned an ₱8.3-billion allocation involving the Department of Public Works and Highways’ 2017 budget. I introduced an amendment to remove it. During a Senate caucus, we agreed to redirect the amount toward the free tertiary education measure that was about to become law,” he explained.

At the time, Lacson noted that the ₱8.3-billion allocation, which had been transferred by the House of Representatives from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the DPWH, violated the region’s Organic Act.

Lacson is also advocating for the Edukasyon Plus program, which aims to provide free tuition, a ₱5,000 monthly allowance, and a government internship program, starting with senior high school students.

In support of Edukasyon Plus, Lacson cited a recent international study showing that only 31% of Filipino youths aged 15 have a growth mindset or the desire to improve their lives. The other 69% do not share this aspiration.

“Unfortunately, many able-bodied youth in the Philippines drop out of high school to start working and help support their families. They no longer see continued education as an option. This mindset traps many Filipino families in a vicious cycle of poverty,” Lacson lamented.

Additionally, Lacson pledged to ensure that less useful and questionable appropriations would be realigned to fund the Universal Health Care Act, which automatically enrolls all Filipino citizens in the National Health Insurance Program.

Lacson is running as an independent candidate, with the credo Ang tama ay ipaglaban, ang mali ay labanan.