PRESIDENTIAL candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao on Sunday night pitched voters his plan to clean up the government within his first year in office and stop an estimated yearly loss of P700 billion in taxpayers’ fund to corruption.
He vowed to spend the same amount chiefly on programs for farmers and socialized shelter projects for homeless Filipinos every year if he wins a six-year term.
“Bakit si Manny Pacquiao? Kapag kahirapan ang pinag-usapan… hindi ito kosepto kay Manny Pacquiao. Ito po ay dinanas ko. Dinanas kong matulog sa kalye at magutom, tubig lang ang inumin ko (Why vote for Manny Pacquiao? Because when I speak of poverty… it is not some vague concept to me. It was something I lived with. I knew how it was to survive on the street…to have nothing but water to fend off gnawing hunger,” he said.
The 43-year-old retired boxing icon pointed out that Filipinos have been repeatedly let down by candidates they voted based on their impressive educational backgrounds.
In concluding his participation in the second presidential debate organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Pacquiao offered his own modest academic credentials.
“Sinubukan na natin ang diploma ng Harvard, Boston, Georgetown o Oxford. Hiling ko sa inyong lahat subukan naman natin ang University of Makati and Philippine Christian University (We have tried those who boasted of diplomas from Harvard, Boston, Georgetown, or Oxford. Now if am asking you to give one from the University of Makati and Philippine Christian University a chance),” he said.
The PROMDI Party bet promised to weed out dishonest public officials and employees to give Filipino taxpayers a fair return for their contribution to the government.
He reiterated his plan to put up a jumbo jailhouse to hold all erring public officials, regardless of stature or connections to power.
The senator said the best deterrent to corruption in public office is certainty of prosecution and punishment for wrongdoings.
“It is impossible to reduce corruption if nobody goes to prison. But if culprits are swiftly jailed, it would put fear in the heart of the corrupt,” he said.
Citing 2019 figures from the Office of the Ombudsman, debate moderator Ces Drilon said P700 billion lost to corruption annually would have been enough to finance 1.4 million housing units.
Pacquiao said with that amount, thousands of Filipino families could have decent homes, get employment, and contribute to building a stronger country.
“It pains me to see poor households who cannot afford to feed themselves. I always blame grafters in government,” the Mindanaoan senator said.
