On Senator Lacson’s alleged ‘fixation’

PLEASE allow us to set the record straight and disabuse the minds of your readers regarding the column of Mr. Rolly G. Reyes last March 7 (“Ping’s fixation,” Manila Times, March 7, 2019), where he made personal attacks against Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson – including his claim that the senator’s disclosures on pork barrel are due to a supposed fixation on Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It is quite dismaying that such baseless allegations belie the last paragraph of his piece, “good work, good deeds and good faith to all.”

First, Senator Lacson calls out wrongdoing, regardless of who gets hurt. His latest disclosure about attempts to manipulate and sneak pork into the already-ratified P3.757-trillion national budget bill stemmed from information shared by several members of the House of Representatives themselves. In the case of post-ratification manipulations involving the Department of Health’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program, House members received a text message on the matter from one Ms. Salamanca, who introduced herself as a member of the staff of Speaker Arroyo.