Veteran lawmaker asks his fellow candidates to stop ‘beast- mode’ politics after elections

Former Senator Panfilo Lacson (Photo by Benhur Arcayan/Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA—Former Senator Panfilo Lacson asked his fellow candidates on Thursday to stop the “beast-mode” politics and switch to public servant-mode after the May 9 elections.

“Ang apela ko lang sa katulad kong kumakandidato, sa ngayon, pulitiko tayo pero pagkatapos ng election, let’s all stop being politicians and let’s all be public servants and statesmen,” Lacson said.

In an interview, he lamented that some politicians still pursue patronage politics and a culture of mendicancy even after they win, because they are thinking of how to remain in power after their term ends.

Lacson cited a saying that the difference between a public servant and a politician is that a politician thinks of himself and the next election while a public servant thinks of the nation and the next generation.

On May 9, Filipinos will elect their national and local leaders, whose terms will start after noon of June 30.

Lacson is running as an independent candidate for senator, and is advocating the equitable use of the national budget to address the needs of local government units through his Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment or BRAVE.

BRAVE seeks to give substantial amounts to the local government units at the provincial, city, municipal and barangay levels so they can jump-start their local development projects.

“Dapat pagkatapos ng election, at naproklama na, nahalal na, dapat kalimutan ang pagiging politician. Dapat lahat kami, ituring namin sa sarili namin, public servants,” he said.