A public servant for over 50 years, Lacson vowed to pursue an administration centered on good governance and one that is free of corruption, advocating "leadership by example."
“If you are talking only of P640 million, there is P328 billion a year unused by the national government for the last ten years and we've been crying out loud about this P328 billion. Wala naman kaming magagawa. Lehislatura lang kami kaya namin pinagka-cut 'yung mga hindi naman magagamit but then you know, the national government has been laxed in this particular issue,” Sotto said during the forum.
Four names of alleged "players" in vegetable smuggling supposedly protected by politicians were floated in a Senate investigation Tuesday.NICA director Edsel Batalla confirmed that the four names mentioned by Senate President Vicente Sotto III were included in their list but the information is still subject for validation as these are all "raw information" from their operations.
Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday accused Senate President Vicente Sotto III of "bypassing" her as the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food when the Senate formed the Committee of the Whole to investigate the proliferation of smuggled agricultural products in the Philippine market.
"Last March 12, former Quezon City Mayor Brigido "Jun" Simon Jr. approached me in Pampanga to ask me to withdraw from the presidential race. He told me they can convince Sen. [Francis] Pangilinan to withdraw to give way to the tandem of Vice President Robredo and my running mate, Senate President Tito Sotto," Lacson said.