Senator Panfilo ‘Pin’’ Lacson, presidential candidate of Partido Reporma, is bent on pushing technological solutions to eliminate corruption under his administration thus promoting social justice in the process, especially for the working-class Filipinos, who always have a hard time fighting for a living wage.

In a virtual press conference, Lacson explained how his plans for the digitalization of all government processes could address the constant problem of low-wage earners seeking better salary increments from their employers.

Under the Philippine Labor Code, minimum wage rates in the country are determined by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board—an attached organization of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)—with representations from the employers’ and employees’ sectors.

“Tatlo ‘yan e. Sila nag-de-determine kung magkano dapat ang wage, ano, ‘yung living wage at saka ‘yung real wage ng mga tao sa isang region (It’s three-way. They are the ones who will determine the average wage—the living wage and real wage of workers in a particular region),” Lacson said.

The sad reality, however, is that some employers are not forthright when it comes to their financial records, which makes it difficult for their workforce or the labor union to appeal or negotiate for wage increases, he explained.

‘’Did you know that these employers have three sets of books (for their financial statements)? One set reflects their real profits. The other set is for the BIR {Bureau of Internal Revenue}. The other set is what is shown to their employees during the negotiation for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA),’’ Lacson said.

“So, pagka ‘yung pinag-uusapan na ‘yung pagtaas ng sahod, ang ipinapakita ‘yung pangatlo—‘yung para lang sa mga workers (So, when there is a discussion about pay hikes, what they present is the third one, which is meant only for the workers). Mawalang-galang na sa mga employers ha, pero ito talaga ‘yung reality. Tapos ‘pag BIR, iba rin ‘yung version; at saka ‘yung totoo, ‘yung para sa kanila lang (With all due respect to the employers, but this is the reality. Then, there’s a separate version for the BIR; and the real one is for them {management} alone),’’ he added.

Lacson said issues like these could be avoided if the full digitalization of government processes is implemented with a highly sophisticated algorithm designed to detect fraud, thereby compelling businesses and other high-income tax paying individuals to be honest about their financial records.

Central to the promotion of a digital governance framework is the enhancement of revenue collection processes, both from the BIR and the Bureau of Customs, to enable the Lacson administration to create a balanced budget that will address the socioeconomic problems besetting the nation and its people, while avoiding as much as possible the imposition of new taxes or any tax increase.

The presidential aspirant said he is looking at the possibility of establishing cross-referencing mechanisms between the BIR and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a starting point to achieve these goals.

This way, the government would be able to determine and assess whether the numbers declared and reported in the income taxes filed by businesses and wealthy taxpayers are correct, or whether they are hiding something.

Similar systems would be applied to the databases of other government agencies to enable the government to evaluate whether a person or business is reporting the right information and paying the right taxes—whether their total assets such as real properties and automobiles are commensurate to the income they declare—much like how the Internal Revenue Service of the United States federal government has been doing it, according to Lacson.

‘’This will all be included in the system. Because it appears that we have adopted a culture of ‘let it slide, everyone’s the same anyways.’ That attitude is wrong. It’s about time we have someone who we can call as agents of change, who are really determined. That’s Senate President Tito Sotto and I),’’ he said.

Lacson is running for president in the 2022 elections with Sotto as his running mate. Part of their overall socioeconomic agenda is the resurgence of economic activity by reducing unemployment and investing in the micro-, small- and medium-enterprises.

The Lacson-Sotto tandem is campaigning on the platforms of good governance and anti-corruption with the messages “Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay ng mga Pilipino” (Fix the Government, Improve the Lives of Filipinos) and “Uubusin ang Magnanakaw” (Get Rid of the Thieves).