Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson enumerated the most pressing woes the country is facing as a warning to those who are planning to run for president in the coming elections.
The veteran senator shared this list in a tweet on Tuesday.
“Apply now, suffer later,” Lacson warned.
The next President will deal with the following:
Bad economy
West Philippine Sea
Covid-19
P12T national debt
Corruption, drugs, peace and order
50% increase in IRA
17.7% unemployment rate
30.7% hunger rate
MUP Pension (P9.6T seed fund)
Low tax revenueApply now, suffer later.
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) February 1, 2021
The still raging novel coronavirus pandemic, the “bad” economy, the P12 trillion national debt and the relentless territorial woes at the West Philippine Sea are among the issues that the next leader of the land would have to deal with, according to the senator.
Lacson also cited some longstanding problems such as corruption, illegal drugs and maintaining peace and order, all of which were President Rodrigo Duterte’s main campaign promises back in 2016.
Other concerns
In the subreddit forum r/Philippines, one user said that the normalized incompetence in the government was not mentioned by Lacson.
The Reddit user claimed that the president favors his allies in the government despite their violations. He particularly cited Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas, Sen. Koko Pimentel and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong who violated the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases health and safety protocols.
He also claimed the government buries pressing concerns such as the missing PhilHealth funds and COVID-19 loans with new issues.
Another Reddit user also stressed the country’s poor healthcare system, a major problem that the medical community had been raising since the start of the health crisis in March 2020.
The Philippines entered into what economists considered as the worst recession since 1981 in August 2020 and further slumped another 8.3% in the last quarter of 2020, based on a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
This eventually contributed to the skyrocketing prices of agricultural goods such as pork, fish and fruits and vegetables in public markets that hurt Filipinos whose livelihoods were affected by the pandemic.
Some Filipinos expressed skepticism over Lacson’s motive for issuing such warning when it’s still a year away from the national elections in 2022.
Names that emerged
The senator neither mentioned nor hinted his pick for the future president.
The comments section of his post, however, were filled with names that seemed to ring around supporters of the current administration.
Last December, major polling firm Pulse Asia released its pre-election survey results wherein Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte emerged as the top contender for the presidential race after receiveing 26% support from the 2,400 respondents.
She was followed by Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and Grace Poe who were both chosen by 14% of the respondents.
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno came in fourth with 12% support and then Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who recently became the president of the ruling party with 10%.
None of those who emerged at the top five of Pulse Asia’s survey have announced his or her plans for the national polls next year.
