CAPAS, Tarlac – Former Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Wednesday helped local officials of this municipality to boost access to education by doing their part in the process of crafting the national budget.
Lacson said that local officials should include the establishment of schools – including the Lyceum of Capas – in their local development plans, so this will be considered in the proposed national budget for next year.
“It would be better that they include the schools in their local development plans, since the crafting of the national budget starts with the local government units. The consolidated local development plans will then be sent eventually to the national government level,” he advised Mayor Roseller “Boots” Rodriguez and Vice Mayor Alex Espinosa in Filipino, during a program here.
He noted this will be considered by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), which will prepare the National Expenditure Program (NEP) or President’s budget to be submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation.
Lacson also advised the local officials to make sure the project has a complete program of work, so he can help ensure its funding in the national budget.
Should he earn a Senate seat this May, he said he will make sure the project is not excluded from the budget bill before it is sent to the President for signing into law. This is part of his continued passion to scrutinize the national budget, he stressed.
“We will coordinate with the national government agencies concerned, in this case the Department of Education and Department of Public Works and Highways. We will make sure the funding sought by the Regional Development Council will be retained or even augmented,” he said.
Lacson said this is also part of his advocacy to ensure Filipino youths’ access to education. In 2016, Lacson triggered the funding for what would become the Free Tertiary Education Act when he blew the whistle on P8.3 billion in funds parked with the DPWH in the proposed budget for 2017.
The P8.3 billion was for public works projects in the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) – which had its own public works department.
Following Lacson’s discovery, senators eventually decided to turn the amount into the initial fund for what would become the Free Tertiary Education Act of 2017 (RA 10931).
“Before the measure became a law, it had an initial fund of P8.3 billion from pork barrel that I discovered while scrutinizing the budget bill, Lacson noted.
Lacson received a rousing welcome from local officials and residents here. With him was former Commission on Filipinos Overseas Sec. Leo Arugay.
Meanwhile, Lacson also assured Mayor Rodriguez and Vice Mayor Espinosa of his support for the town’s bid to become a city. The push for cityhood is included in a bill now pending before the House of Representatives.
“If a town becomes a city, it will get higher internal revenue allotment, which will mean more assistance for constituents,” he said.
“If I earn a Senate seat, I will surely do my part to help Capas attain cityhood,” he added.|
