Partido Reporma, political party of presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, should not be expected to become the most dominant party if he becomes president mainly because he will be loyal to his ‘governance beyond politics’ approach in ruling the country.
Unlike Lakas-CMD, Liberal Party and PDP-Laban that swift transformed to become majority parties with huge membership after a member became president, Partido Reporma might not become a magnet for political butterflies because Lacson will not exercise partisan politics with respect to the distribution of public funds.
This scenario is based on the statement of former Rep. Ashley “Ace” Acedillo, who said that party affiliations will hardly matter under a Lacson administration because he would be focusing on developing local communities.
Acedillo is one of the spokespersons for Lacson.
“Wala po tayong kinikilingan pagdating sa partido o kulay. Kung sino po ang nangangailangan ‘yan po ang prayoridad, at kung saan po dapat tugunan ng gobyerno ang mas nakararami, doon po ilalagay ang pondo at ang programa ng gobyerno. (We will not be biased in favor of or against any political party or color. Whoever needs funding the most will be our priority, and wherever the national government has to respond better for the good of the majority, that is where the resources and programs of our government will go.),” Acedillo told broadcast journalist Buddy Oberas in an interview.
“Yan po ay ina-assure po ‘yan, ano, ng isang Lacson administration—na porket hindi ka kapartido ikaw po ay aatupagin. Ikaw po ay pagbibigyan ng atensyon dahil ikaw ay nangangailangan ng tulong ng gobyerno at ng kalinga ng ating administrasyon. (This is what the Lacson administration assures everyone. Just because you belong to another party doesn’t mean you will not be entertained. You or your constituents will be paid attention to because you need the help of our government and support of our administration.),” said Acedillo.
The Lacson spokesman said this is the essence of the Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program of Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III to address the system that has reduced local government officials almost to “begging” for funding from legislators from both the Senate and the House every budget season that was the staple in past administrations.
Under the BRAVE framework, duly elected public officials and the citizenry are encouraged to collaborate and submit strategic project proposals through their local development councils, so they can be properly incorporated in the overall socioeconomic agenda of the Lacson administration.
“Ito po isa sa mga talagang plataporma ni Senator Ping Lacson bilang pangulo, ano, at ‘yan po ang tinatawag nating patas na standard. Iisang standard po lamang ang dapat ipinapataw sa lahat ng mga naninilbihan sa gobyerno. (This is part of the main platform of Senator Ping Lacson when he becomes president—to implement a single standard policy. Only one standard will be applied to everyone who is willing to serve and work with his government.),” stated Acedillo.