Lacson proposes various budget cuts to fund Education, Connectivity, Defense in 2022

 In the spirit of transparency, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson has made public his proposed institutional amendments to the 2022 budget bill, seeking to slash questionable appropriations and to ensure enough funding for priority programs, activities and projects as he has consistently done in previous years.

- Lacson, who is running for President under Partido Reporma, has served as a strict watchdog of the national budget in the Senate. 

- He is known for being very meticulous when reviewing the national budget. Let’s look at some of his proposed budget cuts:

* For the Department of Agriculture - a P1.97-billion decrease in the proposed appropriations for farm-to-market roads. Not because he doesn’t care about the farmers they are among his top priorities when he becomes President. But Lacson is saying that the implementation of these farm-to-market roads should be transferred to local government units under the Supreme Court’s Mandanas ruling, which should be implemented beginning 2022. 

* Next one is a P2-billion reduction for the National Greening Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. From P3.68 billion to P1.68 billion - again not because it’s unimportant, due to adverse COA performance audit in 2019.

* And for the Department of Public Works and Highways - P1-billion deduction in Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses for the routine maintenance of national roads; plus over P4B in various projects. Lacson has earlier flagged these maintenance projects, saying that we should stop fixing roads that are not broken to begin with, and instead start creating new ones. 

-  The money that the government can save from these proposed reductions, according to Lacson, should instead be used to fund key programs on education, connectivity, anti-cybercrime and defense needs for the coming year.

- Lacson and his running mate, vice presidential candidate Senate President Tito Sotto plan to focus on Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) when they win the top national posts in 2022.