A Lacson presidency will adopt drastic measures against corruption, including the tapping of undercover agents, presidential candidate Senator Panfilo Lacson on Saturday, March 12 said.
Lacson, chairman of.the Senate National Defense and Security Committee, said that such drastic measures would keep even hardheaded members of the bureaucracy on their toes, for fear they would be caught and punished.
Also, Lacson said he plans to have the Plunder Law revisited, to correct its weaknesses and make it easier to implement, so that it will deter the corrupt from stealing from public coffers.
"Sa government bureaucracy, pwede tayong mag-field ng operatives na kunwari nag-a-apply... hanggang matanim sa isipan ng government employees and officials na delikado tayo, baka ang kinikikilan natin ay operative (In the bureaucracy, we can field operatives who pretend to be applicants, to catch mulcting employees. The corrupt employees will soon be on their toes because they don't know if the applicant they are extorting from is a secret operative)," Lacson said in an interview on Radyo 5 Friday, March 11.
"Mas maganda na drastic ang approach - alisin ang Inept, Corrupt and Undisciplined (ICU) sa bureaucracy ng gobyerno (It is good to adopt a drastic approach to remove the Inept, Corrupt and Undisciplined {ICU} from the bureaucracy)," he added.
Lacson, who has earned a hardline reputation against corruption in his 50 years in public service, added that while he as president would have power only over the executive branch of government, this drastic measure will put those in the legislature and judiciary on notice.
"Palagay ko kung nakitang maayos at malinis ang executive branch, judiciary and legislature will follow suit. Human nature yan (I believe that if the judiciary and legislature see that the executive branch is working properly after being rid of corruption, they will follow suit. That is human nature)," he said.
Lacson, who is running for president under Partido Reporma, said he used this same strategy to get rid of the "kotong culture" in the Philippine National Police (PNP) when he headed it from 1999 to 2001.
This will jibe with his and his vice presidential bet Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III's campaign theme of fixing the government's ills (Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay ng Bawat Pilipino).
Lacson – who said corruption is one of the scourges that threaten to ruin his day, especially when he learns of Filipinos victimized by it – reiterated that should he be elected president, he will set the tone for the government in his first day in office by signing a waiver of his rights under the Bank Secrecy Act and undertake a massive sustained internal cleansing of the bureaucracy.
He stressed anew as well his vow to put a premium on transparency in government dealings, including the procurement of vaccines to address the Covid threat.
"Ang essence ng paglaban sa corruption, transparency (Transparency is the essence of fighting corruption)," he said.