Expressing pragmatic reservations about a major public pledge by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former senator Ping Lacson considers the plan to reduce rice prices to P20 per kilo as highly challenging.
In an interview on Friday, February 28th, ahead of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign event in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, Lacson stated frankly, “In reality, achieving a rice price of P20 per kilo is quite challenging. If we can get closer to that figure, everyone would already be satisfied. But strictly speaking, it’s difficult.”
Although running for Senate under the Alyansa coalition, Lacson is known for speaking candidly, even when his views differ from his political allies. Earlier this month on February 18th, he publicly called out lawmakers, urging them to refrain from interfering in executive-run social programs like the AKAP initiative under Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Remarkably, despite competing against Marcos Jr. in the 2022 presidential elections alongside then-running mate Tito Sotto, Lacson and Sotto are now part of the administration-endorsed slate aiming for renewed Senate seats. This alignment underscores the dynamic nature of political alliances in Philippine politics.