Ping Lacson list of accomplishments and advocacies

 Ping Lacson list of accomplishments and advocacies

ANTI-CORRUPTION

NO TO PORK BARREL. Refused to take part of the Congressional “pork barrel” allocations which resulted in at least P240 Billion savings in taxpayers’ money.

TRANSPARENCY. The only member of Congress who published all his amendments and augmentations online during every budget deliberations.

WAIVER OF BANK SECRECY. Pushed for the waiver of bank secrecy for government officials.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING. Crafted Republic Act 9160 (as amended by RA 9194) or the Anti-Money Laundering Act and its subsequent amendments strengthening the mandate the Council and including Casinos as ‘Covered Persons’

CUSTOMS TARA SYSTEM. Exposed the systemic corrupt practices of employees of the Bureau of Customs during the Senate investigation on the P6.05 billion shabu importation.

AUTOMATION IN THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS. Consistently moved for the automation of procedures in the Bureau of Customs to do away with human intervention that opened opportunities for corruption.

PHILHEALTH CORRUPTION. Exposed the flaws and loopholes in the current case rate system, millions worth of fraudulent claims, and the PhilHealth mafia.

6 BILLION “TONGPATS” SCHEME IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Revealed the P6 billion pork importation racket within the Department of Agriculture.

95 BILLION INFRA FUNDS FOR ARROYO AND HOUSE ALLIES. Exposed the unlawfully funneled P95 billion infrastructure funds to districts of allies in Congress of then Speaker Arroyo in the 2019 budget.

RECYCLING OF APPOINTEES. Vocal on his stand against the administration’s habit of “recycling” into various agencies appointees involved in corruption issues.

105 MILLION CHOPPER SCAM. Exposed the involvement of former first gentleman Mike Arroyo in the P105 million sale of Arroyo’s two used civilian helicopters as brand new to the PNP.

12 BILLION ANOMALOUS STIMULUS PACKAGE. Initiated the investigation of the plan to channel 12.5 billion in Social Security System (SSS) funds into the administration coffers.

5 BILLION QUEDANCOR SCAM. Revealed the multibillion-peso swine scam on the irregularities of the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) to fund Arroyo’s 2004 bid for re-election.

728 MILLION FERTILIZER SCAM. Exposed the release, through then DA Sec. Jocjoc Bolante, of P728 million fertilizer funds to local officials for vote buying in favor of Arroyo’s re-election bid for President.

329 MILLION DOLLAR NBN-ZTE DEAL. Sought the investigation of the $329 million National Broadband Network deal with China’s ZTE Corp that was overpriced by $130 million to cover kickbacks.

470 MILLION DOLLAR IMPSA DEAL. Pushed for the investigation of the $14 million bribe of gov’t officials by Argentine firm Industrias Metallurgicas Perscamona, SA (IMPSA) in the $470 million contract to repair and operate the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric plant in Laguna.

“HELLO GARCI” ELECTION FRAUD. Pushed to investigate the vote rigging and election fraud exposed by the released wiretapped conversations between then President Arroyo and COMELEC Commissioner Garcillano.

500 MILLION OVERPRICED LAMP POSTS. Exposed the overpriced decorative lamp posts in the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center in preparation for the 12th ASEAN Summit.

 COVID RESPONSE

 

SPECIAL RISK ALLOWANCE FOR HEALTH WORKERS. Introduced as an amendment to Bayanihan I Law the special risk allowance for front liners on top of their regular hazard pay.

FINANCIAL AID AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR  HEALTHWORKERS. Introduced as an amendment to Bayanihan I Law the entitlement of P1 million financial assistance in case of death and P100,000 and medical assistance to infected health workers.

1 BILLION ADDITIONAL BUDGET. Increased the DOH budget allotted for urban and rural areas by P1 billion in 2020.

8.6 BILLION BUDGETARY ADJUSTMENT. Proposed the increase of DOH programmed appropriations for the HFEP from P5.9 billion to 14.6 billion.

3.6 BILLION FLEXIBLE LEARNING OPTIONS. Provided P3.6 billion to support and prioritize the provision of self-learning modules to financially-challenged learners who have no access to internet and technology.

910 MILLION FOR MEDICAL EXAM OF TEACHERS. Additional P910 million for medical examination of school teachers who perform frontline services such as the distribution of modules in public schools and food packs for the continuation of school-based feeding programs.

OVERPRICED CHINESE VACCINES. Called out the DOH’s non-transparent procurement of Sinovac vaccines that revealed that the initial cost should have been P1,814 per dose (actual price: P517.06/dose).

P841M OVERPRICED AMBULANCE. Exposed an overpricing in the amount of P1M per ambulance acquired by the DOH during the Covid-19 pandemic.

CALL TO REPLACE DOH SEC. DUQUE. Consistently vocal in the call for the removal of Secretary Duque for his incompetence in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and the corruption controversies involving DOH, PhilHealth and even his family business.

 PUBLIC ORDER

 

NO TAKE POLICY. He brought to reality his long term aspiration as a child of a palengke vendor & jeepney driver to get rid of the “kotong cops” through strict implementation of his no-take policy while  he was Chief PNP.

RESCUED VICTIMS OF KIDNAP FOR RANSOM SYNDICATES. Led operations resulting in the rescue of kidnap victims and refused to receive money from relatives to thank him for his service.

CRACKDOWN ON JUETENG OPERATIONS. Launched a campaign against jueteng leading to a falling-out with then President Estrada.

RISE IN PNP TRUST RATING. The Philippine National Police achieved its highest trust and satisfaction rating while he was Chief PNP.

NO DOUBLE STANDARDS. Opposed Pres. Duterte’s double standard in his war against illegal drugs since 2016.

NEW ANTI-HAZING LAW. Spearheaded major amendments to our country’s anti-hazing law after spearheading the senate investigation on the Aegis Juris Fraternity in relation to the death of freshmen law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo, III.

PNP KILLINGS. Presided and shed light on the involvement of several PNP officers in the killings of Korean citizen Jee Ick Joo, Albuera Mayor Espinosa and Kian delos Santos.

TERRORISM AND TERRORIST FINANCING. Strengthened existing laws to address terrorist groups, particularly extremists that formed alliances with ISIS.

PNP BODY CAMERAS. Pushed for the fast tracking of the implementation of the PNP’s mandatory use of body cameras in all police operations.

NO GUNS FOR OFF-DUTY POLICE. Proposed the prohibition of police to carry firearms while off duty to prevent unauthorized discharge/use.

JUDICIAL MARSHAL SERVICE. Pushed for the creation of the Judicial Marshal Service to ensure the safety of justices, judges, court officials and personnel.

REHABILITATION OF CHILD OFFENDERS. Pushed for the funding of child offenders’ rehabilitation facilities

 EDUCATION

 

8.3 BILLION PORK TO FREE TUITION. Realigned illegal Congressional insertion for ARMM to fund for the very first time free tuition for all students of state colleges and universities throughout the country (even before the passage of the Free Tuition Act)

789 MILLION FOR UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES RESEARCH PROGRAM. Increased the budget of the University of the Philippines System by P252,720,000 and P537,991,000 (for 2019 and 2020, respectively) in support of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in UP Los Baños.

7.8 BILLION FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND GRANTS-IN-AID PROGRAMS. Increased the budget to deliver more economical, responsive, technology-driven, and sustainable services for all -- especially for the education sector.

770 MILLION CASH ALLOWANCE FOR TEACHERS. Increased the budget of the DepEd for the Cash Allowance of Teachers to P770,656,000 in 2017.

1.050 BILLION CHALK ALLOWANCE TO TEACHERS. Provided a total of P1,050,000,000 for chalk allowance for teachers in 2018.

700 MILLION CLOTHING & UNIFORM ALLOWANCE FOR TEACHERS. Provided P700 million to increase the allowances for the clothing and uniform expenses of teachers

2 BILLION FOR DEPED QUICK RESPONSE FUND. Increased the budget of the DepEd in the amount of P2 bullion to cover the construction of schools severely affected by the series of typhoons.

3.7 BILLION FOR SCHOOL-BASED FEEDING PROGRAM. Proposed the addition of P3,712,527,000 to the School-based Feeding Program of DepEd to cover 240 days of lunch meals for severely wasted learners.

1 BILLION FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION-TEACHER QUALITY AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. Proposed to augment the budget by P1.7 billion to capacitate public school teachers on the childrens’ rights, inclusion and positive discipline  in everyday teaching.

107 MILLION FOR TEXTBOOKS & OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. Increased the budget to fundL P100 million for assistive devices & universal design materials for education of children with disabilities; P5 million for development of materials on sexuality education to combat teen and early pregnancy; and P2 million for advocacy and campaign on Water and Sanitation and Health (WASH).

2.92 BILLION FOR COMPUTERIZATION PROGRAM. Provided additional P2.925 billion to achieve the target of DepEd’s Computerization Program.

2 BILLION FOR QRF. Increased the budget for QRF by P2 billion to immediately repair and replace damaged school facilities caused by earthquakes and various disasters in Mindanao.

17 BILLION FOR LAST MILE SCHOOLS PROGRAM. Increased the budget for the Last Mile Schools Program by P12 billion and P5 billion (for 2020 and 2021, respectively) to close the gap between students from Geographically Isolated, Disandantaged and Conflict-Afflicted (GIDCA) areas and urban center counterparts.

TECH4ED. Supported the Technology Empowerment for Education, Employment, Entrepreneurs, and Economic Development (Tech4ED) project, a shared facility for providing access to ICT-enabled services to benefit the unserved and underserved communities.

 

 OTHERS

VOTED AGAINST TRAIN LAW. Opposed the imposition of additional taxes and moved for the reduction of the VAT rate to 10% after reducing the 143 types of exemptions down to the basic necessities and imposing mechanisms to avoid leakages in collection.

PHILIPPINES OWNS THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA. Firm in invoking the Philippines’ win in its claim over the West Philippine Sea against China.

FREE IRRIGATION. Authored the law waiving irrigation fees for farmers owning 8 hectares of land or less.

ABS-CBN FRANCHISE. Supports the renewal of the franchise of ABS-CBN.

INCREASED BUDGETARY SUPPORT TO LGUs. Pushed for the legislation of additional funding for local government units for development projects to effect genuine decentralization without need of charter change.

AGAINST OVER REGULATION OF BUSINESS. Supports all forms of businesses with a vision of avoiding over regulation in order to thrive while at the same time encouraging further investments that will create jobs.

NATIONAL BROADBAND PROGRAM. Pioneered the budget of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), particularly, for the National Broadband Program.

INCREASED THE CHR BUDGET. Sponsored and increased the budget of the Commission on Human Rights to P863 Million after being given only a budget of P1.00 by the House of Representatives.

ANTI-RED TAPE. Sponsored the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, which brings down the number of steps and days involved in a government transaction, and in turn paves the way for efficient and expeditious public service.