Proclaimed Senator Ping Lacson is taking to heart – and to the Senate – the lessons he learned from ordinary Filipinos he interacted with during the 90-day senatorial campaign.
Lacson said in a radio interview that he learned many realities that would guide him in crafting legislation for issues affecting sectors such as agriculture, education, and local government units (LGUs).
“While we explained to them our campaign platform, we also drew not just inspiration but also lessons from their real-life experiences.”
“During our campaign, we visited areas where we met with LGU officials, down to the barangay chairmen. While we explained to them our campaign platform, we also drew not just inspiration but also lessons from their real-life experiences,” he said in Filipino in an interview on Bombo Radyo Philippines.
“If we did not meet with people on the ground like this, we would not have known about their situation, much less how to help them,” Lacson added.
He cited as an example the issues in the implementation of the Free Tertiary Education Act of 2017, where he learned from parents from poor families that they were asked to pay tuition in advance and wait for rebates – which at times do not come.
Lacson also said he is considering revisiting and introducing amendments to existing laws to give students from poor families some leeway in staying in the free tertiary scholarship program.
“I am considering a ‘Kabataang Magsasaka’ bill that provides scholarships to farmers’ children – in exchange for rendering years of service in the Philippines after graduation, in the mold of the ‘Doktor Para sa Bayan’ law.”
In agriculture, he said that after learning that youths are no longer interested in taking up agriculture courses, Lacson is considering a “Kabataang Magsasaka” bill that provides scholarships to farmers’ children – in exchange for rendering years of service in the Philippines after graduation, in the mold of the “Doktor Para sa Bayan” law.
This will expose agriculture scholars to new technologies in agriculture, and lead to modernized farming.
Lacson also said he is pushing for a measure that will empower LGUs by giving them a one-percent rebate on their Value-Added Tax (VAT) collections, with the rebate going to infrastructure, development and livelihood projects.
