New group endorses Lacson’s candidacy

Sen. Panfilo Lacson is the presidential candidate most prepared to address the socio-political ills of the country, an advocacy group said yesterday.

Alternatibo, a group advocating alternative politics, said it decided to support Lacson because of his "definitive programs" on "tourism, infrastructure, education, food security, budget deficit, graft and corruption, servicing of debt payment, tax collection and overall economic recovery."

The group, which was launched last Jan. 20 at the Ateneo University, is led by chairman Ramon Pedrosa and secretary-general Marianito Canonigo.

Pedrosa is the founding president of the August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM), one of the groups that spearheaded massive street protests during the Marcos era after the assassination of former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. in August 1983.

Pedrosa said that there is "an urgent need to educate" Filipinos to vote "based on character, track record, principles, issues and platform."

For his part, Canonigo brushed aside past allegations of Lacson’s involvement in criminal activity, saying they were "just half-truths and half-lies."

The group hailed Lacson’s no-nonsense approach to crime. Lacson has promised to enforce the death penalty and to neutralize crime syndicates within his first 180 days in office.

Perhaps even more impressive for the group is his uncompromising stand on the population issue that brings him into conflict with the powerful Roman Catholic Church.

For supporters in Bulacan, Lacson’s clear vision of government also puts him in a better position to be the opposition’s common candidate in the elections, despite surveys showing him trailing at a consistent fourth place.

"The presidency entails so much responsibility, and I believe that Mr. Fernando Poe Jr. is not ready for that," said Celso Cruz, chairman of the Ping Lacson for President Movement in Bulacan.

Lacson and Poe, the leading non-administration candidate, are set to meet next month in a bid to unite the fragmented opposition.

Cruz insisted that popularity, as shown by the surveys, shouldn’t be used as the main criterion for choosing a standard-bearer.

Meanwhile, Lacson has again scored the administration for resorting to underhanded campaign tactics.

This time, Lacson accused Malacañang of making it more difficult for congressmen to receive their Congressional Development Fund (CDF) or pork barrel.

The Department of Budget and Management(DBM) now requires congressmen to personally follow up their CDF requests to facilitate its release, which, according to Lacson, was not the practice in the past.

"Yan ang ginagawa nila ngayon para puwersahin ang mga congressmen na suportahan ang mga kandidato ng Malacañang (That’s Malacañang’s strategy to force these congressmen to support its bets)," said Lacson yesterday, who was campaigning in Ilagan, Isabela.

Earlier, Lacson accused Malacañang of giving out P10 million to each congressman to buy their support for the election bid of President Arroyo. He also revealed that Mrs. Arroyo had been using the AFP’s intelligence fund to pay a group of individuals to monitor the movement of his campaign leaders.

Lacson claimed he had "silent supporters" in the military and the police who were keeping him informed of the administration’s campaign activities.

Lacson however has chosen to distance himself from the rumored attempts to destabilize the government.

"This time we don’t need that kind of move," he said. — Mike Frialde, James Mananghaya, Lito Salatan, Charlie Lagasca