Prepare For Possible Invasion – Lacson

CANDELARIA, Quezon – With a powerful claimant encroaching in the West Philippine Sea, the country must also prepare for possible invasion and strengthen ties with allies, Partido Reporma standard-bearer Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Tuesday, March 1.

Lacson, a presidential candidate and chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, cited the several military installations China put up in the West Philippine Sea as well as the repeated intrusions deeper into the country’s waters and harassment of local fishermen by its vessels.

“Ukraine or no Ukraine, we have long suggested for us to strengthen our alliances with equally powerful countries, like the US and Australia. Let our defense department invite them to hold joint exercises, not just on land but on sea,” Lacson told journalists during a sortie here.

He said that in his meeting with residents at the Dalahican Fishport in Lucena City on Monday, Feb. 28, he was told by a member of the fishing community that some 1,500 fishermen no longer venture in the West Philippine Sea due to harassment from Chinese coast guard vessels.

What was troubling is that some of the fishermen were missing and feared dead as their boats were sunk by Chinese vessels, Lacson said, although he clarified that the report has yet to be verified.

He said the Armed Forces modernization must focus on the Navy and the Air Force to allow the country to have a credible defense against external threats.

Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, backed the move of the government to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine even as they called for all efforts to de-escalate the conflict.

In the same event here, Lacson and Sotto said that beneficiaries of cash assistance and other aid programs should demand the timely release of the benefits as these are funded by the public through their taxes.

The tandem gave the advice to around 200 leaders and members of tricycle drivers and operator’s associations (TODA) and other public transport stakeholders during a dialogue here.

TODA leaders said most of them have not received their cash aid provided under the Bayanihan Law as they expressed fear that things are still not looking well with the rising fuel prices.

Lacson and Sotto learned from the Candelaria TODA members that they, too, have not yet received their shares from the P5.58-billion allocation for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers under the Bayanihan 2.

“Go to your barangay chairmen, go to your mayors as a group, because if you’re going alone, you might just get ignored. It is better if you remain organized through your TODA. Claim (your cash assistance) because that’s yours,” Lacson said in Filipino.

He also gave the same advice regarding the P2.5-billion fuel subsidy, which the government is expected to roll out following the consecutive fuel price hikes in the world market due to global events.