Lacson: One Moment of Vote-Selling Will Lead to 6 Years of Misery

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DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental - The one moment you sell your vote could lead to six years or more of misery.

Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson thus reminded voters Saturday against accepting offers of money from candidates and their camps in exchange for their votes on May 9, 2022.

Lacson pointed out that only a leader who can show good governance can unlock the potential of the Filipino people to become our country's greatest asset - and improve our lives over the next six years.

"Iniisip nila out of desperation, 'Tama na ito, for one week I can survive with P2,000 to P3,000' but not knowing that three or six years hence, ang living condition, naroon ang misery ng buhay (Out of desperation, some may accept the money offered - about P2,000 to P3,000 - to make ends meet for one week. But they do not know that for the next three to six years, they will be stuck living miserable lives)," Lacson, who is running for President under Partido Reporma, said at a lunch with local government officials and local business leaders here.

Should the wrong candidates win due to vote-buying, they might not only fail to address the humongous problems besetting our country - they might even worsen our lot, he warned.

Thus, Lacson said all Filipinos who are eligible to vote must "wake up to the reality" that it is up to them to make a difference for the next six years by choosing the right leader. "It's all up to you, it's all up to us. We should choose wisely our next leaders," he stressed.

Currently, Lacson lamented there is a lack of good governance at present, as the budget is being misused instead of going to priority programs such as the full implementation of the Universal Health Care Act.

"We have our greatest asset in this country, our people. You, the business sector, the youth, local government officials. Yan ang greatest asset natin na hindi nata-tap (You are the greatest assets that have yet to be tapped). Unfortunately I'm sorry we don't have good governance," he said.

Lacson said he and his Vice Presidential bet Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, who is running under the Nationalist People's Coalition, are presenting themselves to the Filipinos with a "concrete, implementable and future-proof strategy not only to make us survive - but more importantly, to make us thrive as a nation."

He said their program of government is anchored on bureaucratic and fiscal discipline, as well as leadership by example. Only the good governance stemming from this can unlock the potential our people, he added.

"We're selling ourselves but in a way that we present our platform of government. We don't resort to entertainment," he said.