LACSON: ABSTINENCE FROM PORK GOOD FOR ECONOMY, TOO

DAVAO CITY Abstinence from pork is not only good for the body but also good for the economy, and it showed in the last five-and-a-half years.

Re-electionist Sen. Panfilo Lacson stressed this Friday as he said his abstinence from pork barrel funds saved the government some P1.1 billion in the last five-and-a-half years of his first term as senator.

P1.1 billion is not an amount to sneeze at. So I would like to think that this is my biggest contribution to my constituents during my first term as senator, aside from legislating measures that aim to benefit them, Lacson told reporters at a press conference here.

He said the P1.1-billion savings helped reduce the countrys budget deficit and boost its growth, belying in the process the Arroyo governments claims that its economic managers deserve all the credit for the countrys economic growth.

Lacson gave up his pork barrel funds starting in 2002, after seeing for himself the temptations to commit graft and corruption using pork barrel funds.

During his first year as senator when he availed of the pork barrel fund, he said he was forced to fire and prosecute some local officials and even some of his staff whom he found to have connived in misusing the pork funds.

He also urged his fellow lawmakers to shun pork, but lamented that only a few followed his example.

Still, he said he is proud of the savings generated by his foregoing of pork funds, which he said he considers as his legacy in his first term as senator.

The reduction of the budget deficit and our economic growth is not the sole work of our economic managers. I contributed to the savings, and I am proud of it, he said.