SEN. Panfilo Lacson, archfoe of alleged corrupt officials in the previous administration, asserted on Thursday that an honest President was “not enough.”
Appearing at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado media forum, Lacson said Filipinos are fortunate to have elected his former Senate colleague, President Aquino, into office in the last presidential elections.
“We are lucky that we have an honest President. That much I can say with conviction because I know him personally. But an honest President is not enough,” Lacson told reporters at the forum. “We need a President who is honest and who can control the government.”
Lacson explained he was not talking about a President effectively controlling the entire country but “[having] control over government officials, at least [those] under the Executive branch.”
“Kung magagawa ng honest at mabuting Pangulo ang firm control over the bureaucracy, we will have an ideal situation and we will prosper like the other neighboring Asian countries and maybe even compare with other European or western countries,” he said.
Lacson hastened to point out, however, that he has not given up on Mr. Aquino, who is only barely one year in office and can still assert effective control over officials under him. “First year pa lang naman. For a start, mas mainam na honest ang Pangulo, hindi magnanakaw at hindi corrupt. The other aspect siguro made-develop in due time. I just hope it comes sooner than later.”
He suggested that Mr. Aquino could begin by tightening his grip on executive officials. “Kailangan ma-control ang bureaucracy. Hindi ko sinasabing hindi controlled. Okay na ang honest ang namumuno pero kung loose ang grip, hindi ma-translate sa proper action [ang policies].”
Malacañang, meanwhile, ordered top officials of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) to explain why they should not face administrative disciplinary proceedings following allegations of extortion.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa said a show-cause order had been issued to LLDA general manager Rodrigo Cabrera, Engineering Division chief Donato Rivera Jr. and Lake Management Division head Jacqueline Dabu following allegations of fish- pen owner Charlie Tan that the three tried to extort money from him.
Tan alleged that Cabrera and two other LLDA officials demanded “P300,000 in exchange for the approval of his request to transfer the locations of my fish pens”—a violation of the Antigraft and Corruption Practices Act, or Republic Act (RA) 3019, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, or RA 6713.
The three were given five days from the receipt of the show-cause order to submit their comment to the Office of the Executive Secretary.
The Office of the President exercises jurisdiction over Cabrera, who is a presidential appointee. Rivera and Dabu, while not presidential appointees, are covered by the order “for having allegedly acted in conspiracy” with Cabrera.
On Friday Cabrera took a 60-day leave from office in order to give the Office of the President “a free hand in the conduct of a fair and unprejudiced investigation.”
