We got invited recently for the Yes to
Clean Election Forum. They featured the candidates for senatorial race of
Liberal Party wherein former Department of Interior and Local Government
Secretary Mar Roxas is the standard bearer.
We were able to listen to the two
aspirants for this May elections during the forum that was held at the ground
floor of Cybergate Tower 3 in Mandaluyong City last February 6, 2016. Former Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla and
former actor and COO of Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Mark Lapid
are among who presented their platforms why they want to be senators.
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| Former Energy Secretary and Senatoriable Jericho Petilla. |
Petilla’s track record includes Ateneo
engineering graduate, a former Governor of Leyte and Cabinet official of President
Benigno Aquino III under the Department of Energy. On his talks obviously he is
more knowledgeable in terms of energy crisis. He told us the price index of
different power supplies that the Philippines are using. He also shared his
thoughts on using the nuclear power plant and the Malampaya Gas.
Petilla also impressed us on his familiarity
about community health problems. He told us that he used to think that
Philhealth should be abolished because it is not reliable. But he is now
convinced that it is a work in progress and remittance of payments to different
hospitals is now faster.
We had a one on one interview with
Petilla. We talked about the energy crisis that my beloved province of Palawan.
He said that it’s an issue between the contract of power supplier and the
cooperative. He believes that the cooperative should enforce what is mandated
to its contract in order to resolve the crisis. He also discussed why Palawan
is not benefiting from Malampaya Gas, to think it is the cheaper option of
power supply that Luzon is now enjoying. He said that Palawan cannot
accommodate the watts produced by the gas, and it will be an overboard expense
for the people of Palawan if they will buy the gas.
Somehow I was blown away with Petilla’s
skills in addressing these kinds of issues, even though we know that it is his
work in the past and he should be knowledgeable to it. However he makes a stand
and was convincing enough to offer solutions to the problem. I think he will
make sense in making laws and bills that the Senate of this country needs. His
expertise in local governance up to Cabinet position is a plus factor.
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| Actor and Senatoriable Mark Lapid. |
Next speaker is the son of incumbent
Senator Manuel Lito Lapid. Mark Lapid is a former Governor of Pampanga and was
appointed as Chief Operating officer of TIEZA, a special office under
Department of Tourism. Mark, like his father, also ventured into showbiz. He
had his own solo action films way back and is now married to former actress
Tanya Garcia.
Lapid emphasized on his talks that his
main concern in running as senator is to give employment with his background in
Tourism. He believes that many people will benefit from this industry. He also
discussed local regulations needs polishing in terms of tour guidelines to
ensure the safety of the tourists. Nevertheless, he is convinced that the tourism
industry of the country is still one of the best high earners for our economy.
He admits that his father’s image in the
senate is tagged as the silent leader during plenary sessions. But he told us
that his father is not silent in terms of work. He is proud to say that his dad
passed many bills on record in the senate. Given a chance he wants to pursue laws
regarding free medical checkups for the poor.
The Yes to Clean Election Forum is
organized by Y2ML Volunteer Activation Community.
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