While he agrees with business organizations’ call for the government to immediately address ‘historic, massive, and unprecedented’ corruption, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said the campaign should prioritize the welfare of all ordinary Filipino taxpayers.
‘I couldn’t agree more with the business sector, except that they should not speak only on their behalf but also for the tens of millions of individual taxpayers, including every Filipino who cannot escape the 12 percent VAT or consumer tax we all pay for goods and services we deal with daily,’ Lacson said in a statement on Monday.
He issued the statement following the signing of a joint resolution by 34 business groups and associations urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take ‘swift, decisive action’ against corruption, which they described as more than a financial loss but a ‘fatal breach of public trust.’
Signatories of the resolution include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, the Makati Business Club, and the Management Association of the Philippines.
Lacson also stressed that public anger and vigilance against corruption must not wane, warning that those responsible could be emboldened if Filipinos lower their guard.
‘[W]e should sustain the momentum of guarding against any and all shenanigans by monitoring and reporting the same, if not to the concerned authorities, directly to the Filipino people so those responsible may be shamed, prosecuted and put behind bars,’ he said.
‘Lowering our guard, and worse, forgetting after reaching this far in terms of awareness and inciting public anger is no longer an option,’ he added.
Lacson bared in two privilege speeches the extent of corruption in flood control projects, including how some officials gambled away public funds in casinos. /mcm