Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson maintained Sunday he was a victim of injustice and unfair treatment, and not a spoiler, in the opposition’s political fortunes in the 2004 presidential and national elections.
Lacson, questioning claims that he took away “needed” votes from the late Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 race, said his decision to continue his presidential bid in 2004 despite several offers of compromise was out of self-respect.
“I will never admit playing the spoiler’s role in 2004. I was more of a victim of injustice and unfair treatment by my former party Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP),” he stressed.
He said it was out of self-respect that he rejected calls to withdraw from the race, particularly after he received “very tempting” offers from Poe’s camp, including reimbursement of expenses, Cabinet posts for himself and members of his campaign staff, and anointment in 2010.
Besides, he said the myth that Poe could have won had he “slid down” and ran as his vice presidential candidate was shattered in 2005, when the “Hello Garci” scandal detailed an elaborate plan by the administration to cheat the opposition, even if they united.
On the other hand, Lacson said former President Joseph Estrada is within his rights to join the 2010 presidential race if he decides to run, “barring any constitutional or legal complications.”
In his case, he said he will look at three conditions of intention, opportunity and means.
“If you ask me, I’d say yes, I have the intention,” he said.
“But there are two other more important considerations, 1 of them is opportunity. Opportunity comes in the form of independent surveys, focus group discussions, endorsements and so forth. And the instrument. Do you have the capability to run a national campaign? These include funding, organization, resources. If all three present themselves at the proper time, I will definitely go for it,” he said.
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Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Lacson: Asean Preps Probe to Prevent Abuse of Procurement Law
An upcoming Senate investigation into alleged irregularities in preparations for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit last January should prevent abuses of the government’s procurement law, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Saturday.
Lacson, in a resolution he filed on the last working day of the Senate last Dec. 27, asked the Blue Ribbon Committee to look into the supposed irregularities and come up with solutions to patch loopholes in the procurement law and the anti-graft law.
“The unabated anomalies and corruption that oftentimes accompany contracts entered into not only by the national government but even by local government units tend to show the utter disregard by public officers of the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 9184 (Procurement Act) to the prejudice of the public coffers,” he said in his resolutions.
On the other hand, he said the practice of public officers of continuously violating RA 9184 just to enrich themselves at the expense of the public coffers “likewise show their apathy towards the provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
Lacson said he intends to bring up the matter before the floor when the Senate resumes regular session on Jan. 21, 2008, and to schedule the hearings for it soonest.
In his resolution, he said the Cebu provincial government entered into a contract for the supply and construction of decorative lampposts and street lightings with Fabmik Construction and Equipment Company and Gampik Construction and Development Inc. for the summit.
The provincial government also entered into a contract for the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) to serve as venue for the summit.
But after the summit ended, a local businessman alleged that the city government violated the procurement act when it entered into negotiated contracts with some public works contractors, in contrast to the law’s requirement for competitive bidding.
Worse, he said the CICC project also violated the provision of the Commission on Audit’s Circular No. 76-41, which prohibits the splitting of contracts so as not to increase project costs.
He said that while Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia held a presentation where the provincial government spent P581.273 million for the CICC project – way below the P637.4 million allocated for it, there were reports that she did not fully disclose the entire amount spent for the said project since WT Construction, one of the contractors for the said project, submitted an additional billing statement in the amount of P261,217,886.06;
“A careful perusal of the report made by Gov. Garcia would show that the said amount was not included in the P581,273,000 she previously stated which if added will make the total cost of the project balloon to P842,490,000 or way above the approved project cost for the construction of the CICC,” he said.
On the other hand, the Ombudsman in Cebu discovered that the average rate of P89,385 for the 683 lamps in Cebu City were priced higher than the amount stated in the import documents of Chinese manufacturer, Zhongshan Guzhen Yongan, when it shipped the said items to Gampik Construction and Development Inc.
He said each lamp at the time cost only 224 RMB, which when converted to local currency only amounts to P1,399.22.
Lacson also said the Ombudsman’s computations showed the government should not have paid anything higher than P6,737.79 for each unit, but the Department of Public Works and Highways accepted the P50,000.00 estimate per unit and bought them at that rate – “exclusive of installation resulting to a P43,262.21 loss to the government for each unit,:
In Mandaue City, which sought to procure 655 units, the Office of the Ombudsman discovered that the P224,000 lamps should have cost not more than P11,700 each inclusive of custom duties, transport and other cost excluding installation.
“Whereas, the losses suffered by the government were more pronounced in the purchase of the streetlights which were priced based on the prepared program of works and estimates for single, double and triple-arm streetlights at a cost of P72,500, P85,500 and P95,000 per unit, excluding installation cost. However, based on the import documents for said items, it should have only cost the government P7,536.96, P8,121.20 and P9,523.37 each, excluding installation, respectively,” Lacson said.
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Lacson, in a resolution he filed on the last working day of the Senate last Dec. 27, asked the Blue Ribbon Committee to look into the supposed irregularities and come up with solutions to patch loopholes in the procurement law and the anti-graft law.
“The unabated anomalies and corruption that oftentimes accompany contracts entered into not only by the national government but even by local government units tend to show the utter disregard by public officers of the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 9184 (Procurement Act) to the prejudice of the public coffers,” he said in his resolutions.
On the other hand, he said the practice of public officers of continuously violating RA 9184 just to enrich themselves at the expense of the public coffers “likewise show their apathy towards the provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
Lacson said he intends to bring up the matter before the floor when the Senate resumes regular session on Jan. 21, 2008, and to schedule the hearings for it soonest.
In his resolution, he said the Cebu provincial government entered into a contract for the supply and construction of decorative lampposts and street lightings with Fabmik Construction and Equipment Company and Gampik Construction and Development Inc. for the summit.
The provincial government also entered into a contract for the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) to serve as venue for the summit.
But after the summit ended, a local businessman alleged that the city government violated the procurement act when it entered into negotiated contracts with some public works contractors, in contrast to the law’s requirement for competitive bidding.
Worse, he said the CICC project also violated the provision of the Commission on Audit’s Circular No. 76-41, which prohibits the splitting of contracts so as not to increase project costs.
He said that while Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia held a presentation where the provincial government spent P581.273 million for the CICC project – way below the P637.4 million allocated for it, there were reports that she did not fully disclose the entire amount spent for the said project since WT Construction, one of the contractors for the said project, submitted an additional billing statement in the amount of P261,217,886.06;
“A careful perusal of the report made by Gov. Garcia would show that the said amount was not included in the P581,273,000 she previously stated which if added will make the total cost of the project balloon to P842,490,000 or way above the approved project cost for the construction of the CICC,” he said.
On the other hand, the Ombudsman in Cebu discovered that the average rate of P89,385 for the 683 lamps in Cebu City were priced higher than the amount stated in the import documents of Chinese manufacturer, Zhongshan Guzhen Yongan, when it shipped the said items to Gampik Construction and Development Inc.
He said each lamp at the time cost only 224 RMB, which when converted to local currency only amounts to P1,399.22.
Lacson also said the Ombudsman’s computations showed the government should not have paid anything higher than P6,737.79 for each unit, but the Department of Public Works and Highways accepted the P50,000.00 estimate per unit and bought them at that rate – “exclusive of installation resulting to a P43,262.21 loss to the government for each unit,:
In Mandaue City, which sought to procure 655 units, the Office of the Ombudsman discovered that the P224,000 lamps should have cost not more than P11,700 each inclusive of custom duties, transport and other cost excluding installation.
“Whereas, the losses suffered by the government were more pronounced in the purchase of the streetlights which were priced based on the prepared program of works and estimates for single, double and triple-arm streetlights at a cost of P72,500, P85,500 and P95,000 per unit, excluding installation cost. However, based on the import documents for said items, it should have only cost the government P7,536.96, P8,121.20 and P9,523.37 each, excluding installation, respectively,” Lacson said.
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Thursday, December 27, 2007
Lacson Ends 2007 With Resolution to Probe Asean Preps Mess
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson ended Year 2007 with a resolution seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Cebu government’s preparations for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit last January.
Lacson said he intends to bring up the matter before the floor when the Senate resumes regular session on Jan. 21, 2008, and to schedule the hearings for it soonest.
“The resolution must be read on the floor before it is sent to the appropriate committee, in this case, the Blue Ribbon Committee. Once it is sent to the Blue Ribbon Committee, I will work for the scheduling of the hearings, which I hope will start soonest,” he said.
He added Congress needs to strengthen laws on procurement (Republic Act 9184) and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) to avoid abuses and to prevent similar irregularities from occurring in the future.
Earlier, Lacson cited information he received that the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), the venue of the summit, was overpriced by at least P50 million.
Other alleged irregularities involved P500 million in overpriced decorative lampposts and P83 million in non-working closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
“Incidents of graft such as the one surrounding the Asean summit threaten to defeat the government’s drive to encourage foreign and international groups to hold their conventions in the Philippines,” Lacson noted.
Lacson’s bid for an investigation stemmed from a request from businessman Crisologo Saavedra, who said some P3.5 billion in taxpayers’ money was squandered for government projects leading to the Asean summit last January.
Saavedra also accused Cebu officials led by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia of involvement in negotiated contracts and selective bidding processes in preparing the venue for the summit.
But Gov. Garcia said that while the provincial government spent P581.273 million for the CICC, this was way below the P637.4 million allocated for the project.
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Lacson said he intends to bring up the matter before the floor when the Senate resumes regular session on Jan. 21, 2008, and to schedule the hearings for it soonest.
“The resolution must be read on the floor before it is sent to the appropriate committee, in this case, the Blue Ribbon Committee. Once it is sent to the Blue Ribbon Committee, I will work for the scheduling of the hearings, which I hope will start soonest,” he said.
He added Congress needs to strengthen laws on procurement (Republic Act 9184) and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) to avoid abuses and to prevent similar irregularities from occurring in the future.
Earlier, Lacson cited information he received that the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), the venue of the summit, was overpriced by at least P50 million.
Other alleged irregularities involved P500 million in overpriced decorative lampposts and P83 million in non-working closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
“Incidents of graft such as the one surrounding the Asean summit threaten to defeat the government’s drive to encourage foreign and international groups to hold their conventions in the Philippines,” Lacson noted.
Lacson’s bid for an investigation stemmed from a request from businessman Crisologo Saavedra, who said some P3.5 billion in taxpayers’ money was squandered for government projects leading to the Asean summit last January.
Saavedra also accused Cebu officials led by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia of involvement in negotiated contracts and selective bidding processes in preparing the venue for the summit.
But Gov. Garcia said that while the provincial government spent P581.273 million for the CICC, this was way below the P637.4 million allocated for the project.
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Lacson Seeks Probe of Bloated Cebu Asean Summit Preparations
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson urged the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Thursday to investigate alleged overpricing in the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) and other preparations for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit last January.
Lacson stressed the need to strengthen laws on procurement (Republic Act 9184) and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) to prevent similar irregularities from occurring in the future.
“Based on information I received, the construction of the CICC alone was overpriced by at least P50 million. This does not include alleged irregularities in the overpricing of decorative lampposts,” he said.
He said incidents of graft such as the one surrounding the Asean summit threaten to defeat the government’s drive to encourage foreign and international groups to hold their conventions in the Philippines.
Lacson’s bid for an investigation stemmed from a request from businessman Crisologo Saavedra, who said some P3.5 billion in taxpayers’ money was squandered for government projects leading to the Asean summit last January.
He said these included P500 million in overpriced decorative lampposts and P83 million in non-working closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
Saavedra also accused Cebu officials led by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia of involvement in negotiated contracts and selective bidding processes in preparing the venue for the summit.
But Gov. Garcia said that while the provincial government spent P581.273 million for the CICC, this was way below the P637.4 million allocated for the project.
During one of his visits to Cebu, Lacson saw for himself the overpriced lampposts. He noted the workmanship and quality of many of the lampposts fell short of the price.
o0o
Lacson stressed the need to strengthen laws on procurement (Republic Act 9184) and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) to prevent similar irregularities from occurring in the future.
“Based on information I received, the construction of the CICC alone was overpriced by at least P50 million. This does not include alleged irregularities in the overpricing of decorative lampposts,” he said.
He said incidents of graft such as the one surrounding the Asean summit threaten to defeat the government’s drive to encourage foreign and international groups to hold their conventions in the Philippines.
Lacson’s bid for an investigation stemmed from a request from businessman Crisologo Saavedra, who said some P3.5 billion in taxpayers’ money was squandered for government projects leading to the Asean summit last January.
He said these included P500 million in overpriced decorative lampposts and P83 million in non-working closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
Saavedra also accused Cebu officials led by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia of involvement in negotiated contracts and selective bidding processes in preparing the venue for the summit.
But Gov. Garcia said that while the provincial government spent P581.273 million for the CICC, this was way below the P637.4 million allocated for the project.
During one of his visits to Cebu, Lacson saw for himself the overpriced lampposts. He noted the workmanship and quality of many of the lampposts fell short of the price.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Lacson Attends Senate Hearing on 'Pen Arrests'
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Lacson Wants 'Savings' from Debt Payments Channeled to Health, Education, Research
With the peso projected to strengthen further well into 2008, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson proposed channeling “savings” from debt interest payments to basic services like health, education and research.
Lacson said that with the peso’s exchange rate presently at P42 to $1, the government can re-channel some P11.534 billion to health and research services, without sacrificing debt servicing.
“If we compute interest payments for foreign borrowings at P42 to $1 we’ll be saving something like P11.534 billion and that is where I’m coming from. I would propose we restore the budget of the Department of Health, which was slashed by the Senate version by P4.192 billion. And the amount will be taken out of the savings generated by the appreciation of the peso, using a very conservative estimate of P42 to the dollar,” he said.
He noted that when Malacañang formulated the proposed P1.227-trillion national budget for 2008, it assumed an exchange rate of P46 to $1 for the peso. At present, the Senate version of the budget allocates P290.051 billion for interest payments for debt servicing.
Lacson said that with projections by banking groups indicating the peso may even hit P37.50 to $1 in 2008, the “savings” could be reallocated to health services.
“We eliminated the anti-TB program, these are pro-poor programs. The No. 1 casualty is the anti-TB program, P720 million was slashed and TB remains one of the top 10 killer diseases today. Another is vaccine self-sufficiency. We allocated a measly P30 million for the budget for the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, they are asking for P250 million,” he said.
Lacson also reiterated his proposal to allocate an additional P20 million for research for the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Senate finance committee chairman Juan Ponce Enrile, who was sponsoring the budget, readily obliged to Lacson’s amendments.
Also, Lacson waived anew his pork barrel allocations, following his advocacy against corrupt practices stemming from the use of the controversial fund.
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Lacson said that with the peso’s exchange rate presently at P42 to $1, the government can re-channel some P11.534 billion to health and research services, without sacrificing debt servicing.
“If we compute interest payments for foreign borrowings at P42 to $1 we’ll be saving something like P11.534 billion and that is where I’m coming from. I would propose we restore the budget of the Department of Health, which was slashed by the Senate version by P4.192 billion. And the amount will be taken out of the savings generated by the appreciation of the peso, using a very conservative estimate of P42 to the dollar,” he said.
He noted that when Malacañang formulated the proposed P1.227-trillion national budget for 2008, it assumed an exchange rate of P46 to $1 for the peso. At present, the Senate version of the budget allocates P290.051 billion for interest payments for debt servicing.
Lacson said that with projections by banking groups indicating the peso may even hit P37.50 to $1 in 2008, the “savings” could be reallocated to health services.
“We eliminated the anti-TB program, these are pro-poor programs. The No. 1 casualty is the anti-TB program, P720 million was slashed and TB remains one of the top 10 killer diseases today. Another is vaccine self-sufficiency. We allocated a measly P30 million for the budget for the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, they are asking for P250 million,” he said.
Lacson also reiterated his proposal to allocate an additional P20 million for research for the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Senate finance committee chairman Juan Ponce Enrile, who was sponsoring the budget, readily obliged to Lacson’s amendments.
Also, Lacson waived anew his pork barrel allocations, following his advocacy against corrupt practices stemming from the use of the controversial fund.
o0o
Lacson: Palace Response to Corruption 'Only In The Philippines'
Only in the Philippines.
This was how Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson lamented the response of Malacañang to yet another survey indicating she is the “most corrupt” country’s history.
“In other societies, such widespread indictment would be enough to make a leader resign. In Mrs. Arroyo’s case, it further fuels her motivation to work for the extension of her term via Charter Change. Only in the Philippines,” Lacson said.
He added Malacañang has developed a habit of turning to its “poster boy” on corruption, Tony Kwok, former head of the Hong Kong-based Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Kwok was tapped as a consultant against corruption in 2005.
Lacson said it is high time the Palace stopped skirting the issue by casting aspersions on the survey, noting “survey after survey after survey” had shown Mrs. Arroyo and her administration to be mired in corruption.
The Pulse Asia survey showed 42 percent of Filipinos thought Mrs. Arroyo was the “most corrupt” president in the country’s history since the Marcos administration.
About 45 percent of Filipinos thought that the Arroyo administration was plagued with the “most intense allegations” of corruption, followed by the Marcos administration with 31 percent.
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This was how Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson lamented the response of Malacañang to yet another survey indicating she is the “most corrupt” country’s history.
“In other societies, such widespread indictment would be enough to make a leader resign. In Mrs. Arroyo’s case, it further fuels her motivation to work for the extension of her term via Charter Change. Only in the Philippines,” Lacson said.
He added Malacañang has developed a habit of turning to its “poster boy” on corruption, Tony Kwok, former head of the Hong Kong-based Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Kwok was tapped as a consultant against corruption in 2005.
Lacson said it is high time the Palace stopped skirting the issue by casting aspersions on the survey, noting “survey after survey after survey” had shown Mrs. Arroyo and her administration to be mired in corruption.
The Pulse Asia survey showed 42 percent of Filipinos thought Mrs. Arroyo was the “most corrupt” president in the country’s history since the Marcos administration.
About 45 percent of Filipinos thought that the Arroyo administration was plagued with the “most intense allegations” of corruption, followed by the Marcos administration with 31 percent.
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Monday, December 10, 2007
Lacson, Pimentel Visit Trillanes, Magdalos at PNP Custodial Center
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson (2nd from right) converses with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV (3rd from right) and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim (extreme right), while Senate minority leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. (2nd from left) talks to lawyer Jayvee Bautista (3rd from left). Lacson and Pimentel visited Trillanes and some members of the Magdalo group who are now facing rebellion charges for the Nov. 29 standoff in Makati City. The visit took place at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame last Dec. 6. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Sen. Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr.)
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson (far left) and Senate minority leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. (right) listen to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and some of the Magdalo members detained and facing charges of rebellion for the Nov. 29 standoff in Makati City, during a visit to them at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame last Dec. 6. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Sen. Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr.)
Friday, December 7, 2007
Arroyo Not 'Good' but 'Insatiable' Economist
Not a “good” but an “insatiable” economist.
This was how Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Saturday described President Arroyo, who claimed before British traders in London Friday that she was a “pretty good economist but a very bad politician.”
“If she is talking of her family’s newfound wealth over seven years of misrule and pillage, being a ‘good economist’ is certainly an understatement. An appropriate tag should be ‘insatiable economist’ for Mrs. Arroyo,” Lacson said.
He said that in the mess involving the multimillion-dollar national broadband network deal with ZTE Corp. of China alone, senators were told of bribes offered to various personalities, including a supposed $70-million “offer” to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
On the other hand, he noted Malacañang has continued to stonewall on the sources of funds for millions of pesos in cash gifts to lawmakers and local executives during a meeting right inside the Palace last Oct. 11.
Even now, he said taxpayers are outraged over the huge expenses incurred by nearly 40 lawmakers who tagged along with Mrs. Arroyo in her weeklong European tour, despite the Palace’s insistence that the lawmakers “paid their own way.”
But Lacson said that when it came to boosting the economy for poverty-stricken Filipinos, Mrs. Arroyo cannot lay claim to being a “pretty good economist,” especially with more than nine million Filipino families considering themselves poor and more than seven million Filipino families considering themselves “food-poor” or going hungry, amid repeated Palace claims that the economy is improving.
“If her reference is the poverty-stricken Filipinos, I have yet to coin a phrase to describe what kind of an economist she could be,” Lacson said.
o0o
This was how Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Saturday described President Arroyo, who claimed before British traders in London Friday that she was a “pretty good economist but a very bad politician.”
“If she is talking of her family’s newfound wealth over seven years of misrule and pillage, being a ‘good economist’ is certainly an understatement. An appropriate tag should be ‘insatiable economist’ for Mrs. Arroyo,” Lacson said.
He said that in the mess involving the multimillion-dollar national broadband network deal with ZTE Corp. of China alone, senators were told of bribes offered to various personalities, including a supposed $70-million “offer” to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
On the other hand, he noted Malacañang has continued to stonewall on the sources of funds for millions of pesos in cash gifts to lawmakers and local executives during a meeting right inside the Palace last Oct. 11.
Even now, he said taxpayers are outraged over the huge expenses incurred by nearly 40 lawmakers who tagged along with Mrs. Arroyo in her weeklong European tour, despite the Palace’s insistence that the lawmakers “paid their own way.”
But Lacson said that when it came to boosting the economy for poverty-stricken Filipinos, Mrs. Arroyo cannot lay claim to being a “pretty good economist,” especially with more than nine million Filipino families considering themselves poor and more than seven million Filipino families considering themselves “food-poor” or going hungry, amid repeated Palace claims that the economy is improving.
“If her reference is the poverty-stricken Filipinos, I have yet to coin a phrase to describe what kind of an economist she could be,” Lacson said.
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Monday, December 3, 2007
Senators Lacson and Madrigal File Perjury Charges vs AFP-CRS chief Nestor Sadiarin before Pasay City Prosecutor
Opposition senators Panfilo M. Lacson and Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal file a criminal complaint against AFP Civil Relations Service chief Nestor Sadiarin before Pasay City prosecutor Elmer Mitra Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007. The charges by Lacson and Madrigal, minority members in the Commission on Appointments, included two counts of perjury against Sadiarin for lying - not once but twice - to the appointments body regarding a survey he conducted on Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
Lacson Questions Plan to Purchase Two Presidential Choppers
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