Partido Reporma presidential candidate Panfilo Lacson and running mate Vicente Sotto III favor bringing Filipinos back to onsite or face-to-face work and school because it would be good for the country’s sagging economy.
They also pushed for enhanced internet services across the country to make telecommuting, which became the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, possible for the industries and businesses that wish to continue their existing work-from-home (WFH) arrangements.
Meanwhile, showing he is an action man first, Lacson moved to immediately help farmers in Camarines Norte who had problems with their broken solar-powered water pump that is supposed to help irrigate their fields during a campaign sortie there this week.
Lacson promised he would use his remaining time as a senator to hold accountable agencies and officials responsible for purchasing defective farm machinery and equipment, which also underscores his advocacy that local government units should be buying these implements for farmers instead of the national government.
He and Sotto said the country missed a chance to build a stronger internet “highway” during the Arroyo administration when the government botched a deal for the national broadband network, and said it was time for the country to fully invest in information and communications technology (ICT).
Lacson said the economy will be hurt if we insist on work-from-home (setups).
“On-site work is good. Let the children out, allow them to have face-to-face classes, then (apply COVID-19) Alert Level 1, so the economy will move, definitely.
He echoed the estimate of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua that the country loses P11-billion a week with coronavirus lockdowns or higher pandemic alert levels.
“But by opening up the economy with enhanced activity, the country would gain P16-billion a week in terms of goods and services as defined by its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the three-term senator added.
While some workers have argued that they are more productive with a WFH setup, vice-presidential bet Sotto said it really depends on the industry involved.
The current Senate President said as some would be covered by the Telecommuting Act authored by Senator Joel Villanueva and then-Makati Rep. Monsour del Rosario – now one of Partido Reporma’s senatorial candidates.
He said telecommunicating is OK depending on the line of work, some are okay (with) work-from-home, but not everything, in general, is meant for work-from-home – no.
To fully enable telecommuting, Lacson said the government should invest in its own Department of ICT, which until recently was headed by Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan – his and Sotto’s former “Macho Bloc” colleague in the Senate who is running to return to the chamber in the May 9 elections.
Had the national broadband network not been derailed by the NBN-ZTE scandal during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippines would have internet connectivity that would rival that of South Korea, where faster connections and digitalization are saving its government a whopping $25 billion (P1.25 trillion) a year, the presidential bet stressed.
“This was relayed to us by Senator Honasan when he accompanied the President (Rodrigo Duterte), being the presumptive secretary of DICT (at the time), and they went to South Korea,” Lacson said.
“Can you just imagine that? We would just invest P18 billion to P30 billion, and the national broadband highway would have been finished. The problem is, it was not funded by the Executive branch (under President Arroyo). We were insisting it’s about time that we invest in the DICT, on internet service,” the presidential bet added.
“Now, as we speak at this moment, may I request that you give us your details, and we will hammer it out with the agency that had it (solar pump) made. We can do that in the Senate, we can call their attention and ask them about it.
‘Your pump is not working, if you don’t (get it to work) we will have you investigated or call a Senate investigation on you.”
“So, please give us your details, again, to my staff. We owe you a lot, so we really need to write to them (the concerned offices). I myself will call their attention to meet your particular need, the broken and non-functional solar pump you are telling us. My staff are there, they will come to you and get your details.”
A farmer’s group complained to Lacson in Daet, Camarines Norte that a solar pump built in one of their barangays, which they said cost P6-million, remains broken to this day. They asked the Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer what he could do as the country’s next President to solve their irrigation woes.
Lacson, who incidentally authored the Free Irrigation Act, replied that it boiled down to governance and accountability. He reiterated that national agencies should not be buying farm equipment because their officials would be too far from the farmers in the countryside to complain once the machines break down.
“Governor Egay (Tallado) and I were talking about that earlier because here in CamNorte, you don’t even have a provincial officer for the Department of Agriculture. The primary branch (responsible) is the regional (office, in Pili, Camarines Sur), that’s where you can complain,” he said.
“So, the solution there is the program that we (proposed) – funds should be devolved from the national budget to the local government units, so the one that would procure, would implement this is the local government, not the agency that is so high up (and unreachable).”
That program is Partido Reporma’s flagship Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE), which would download a huge part of the national budget to LGUs, so they can plan and spend for programs that truly benefit their constituents.
Local officials would then be spurred to work on defective projects because they would be embarrassed if farmers kept returning to them daily to complain, Lacson said. That’s why BRAVE would benefit not just the people in Camarines Norte but LGUs across the country as well, he added.
