Lacson eyes expansion of 4Ps, review of 2025 budget

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

May 20, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Incoming senator Panfilo Lacson yesterday said his top legislative priority in the 20th Congress would be to integrate all government cash assistance programs under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

In an interview with Bombo Radyo, Lacson said his team is already drafting amendments to Republic Act 11310 to expand the coverage of 4Ps to include sectors currently served by other aid programs such as TUPAD, AKAP, AICS and MAIP.

“This early, I have instructed my prospective legislative staff to draft an amendment… to expand it and address the sectors covered by the other forms of ayuda that have become confusing and have become a political tool used by some politicians for their campaigns,” Lacson said.

He argued that unlike other programs, 4Ps is supported by a verified list of beneficiaries and backed by studies from government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“Expanding the 4Ps will be better because the 4Ps has a data-driven list of beneficiaries,” he said.

Lacson also criticized the involvement of lawmakers in the distribution of aid under the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), which received a total of P6 billion in allocations through the bicameral committee – P21 billion for the House of Representatives and P5 billion for the Senate – despite Congress not being an implementing agency.

The former senator, known for his budget scrutiny, said he will resume his oversight role and review the implementation of the 2025 national budget, which he described as “one of the most corrupt national budgets” in nearly two decades in the Senate.

“I will intensify my scrutiny of the budget after a three-year absence. I want to study the pattern of how the national budgets of the last three years were passed,” he said.

Lacson is also proposing a one percent value-added tax rebate for local government units to support infrastructure and livelihood programs, saying it would spur local economic growth and improve tax collection.

Tobacco tax

Meanwhile, health advocates are sounding the alarm on a proposed bill that would lower excise tax rates on tobacco products, citing its potential to reverse the country’s progress on tobacco control. Independent health reform advocate Tony Leachon voiced his support for calls urging Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to reject House Bill 11360, also dubbed the “Sin Tax Sabotage Bill.”

“I express my unequivocal opposition to House Bill 11360. Cloaked as a regulatory measure, this bill in truth incentivizes and legitimizes an industry that profits from addiction,” Leachon said in a position paper.

He explained that the bill proposes to lower the annual indexation of excise taxes on tobacco and related products from five percent to three percent, making cigarettes and similar items more affordable over time.

“The bill effectively reduces the inflation-adjusted price of tobacco products, making them relatively more affordable in the coming years. This measure defeats one of the most effective components of tobacco control policy, that is price deterrence,” said Leachon.

He also emphasized that higher tobacco taxes and prices have been shown to reduce consumption, especially among the youth and low-income groups.

Weakening this mechanism, he said, would undermine Republic Act 11346 or the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012, which aimed to reduce smoking rates while funding the Universal Health Care program.

“It is projected that HB 11360 will result in at least two million new smokers, primarily among the poor and the youth, who are most vulnerable to the policy changes in tobacco marketing and pricing,” Leachon warned. — Rhodina Villanueva