MANILA, Philippines — Even for just one day on election day voters should not allow themselves to become “partners of thieves” in casting their ballots for the next leader of the country, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.
Lacson, who is running for president under the Partido Reporma, made the call on voters in his message for National Bible Day where he spoke of the difference between “thieves in the streets” and “thieves in government.”
“The thieves in the streets pick their victims and take their valuables. The thieves in government are picked by the people who mark their names in the ballots on election day. They rob their victims of so much more – their education, livelihood, health and the future of the youth,” he said in Filipino.
“For the longest time, we have witnessed how corruption, the worst form of thievery, continues to destroy our nation. And we only have ourselves to blame. I hope and pray that this day – the National Bible Day shall serve as a reminder,” he added.
He cited a passage in the Bible from the Book of John, Chapter 10, Verse 10, where Jesus Christ said “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
“These words speak of our greatest challenge as a nation: the deeply entrenched thievery that steals and kills and destroys – a sin contrary to the law of God, so does the act of anyone who joins the thief by keeping a blind eye on his selfish act,” he said.
Lacson stressed that if Filipinos are not careful in choosing their leaders, they may end up worse off in the next six years because of such thieves.
“Just for one day, on election day, let us not allow ourselves to be partners of the thieves. Let us stand mightily against the evils of their actions. Let us continue to feed our spirit with the wisdom of God’s words and express our gratitude for the Light of Christ that guides our path against the wicked and toward the good,” he said.
Lacson stressed that his administration will prioritize a massive internal cleansing of the bureaucracy – to rid the government of thieves who victimize those they swore to serve.
He and his vice presidential candidate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, have promised to fix the lives of Filipinos by fixing the ills in government, and to go after thieves, especially in government.
He added that the public can expect that no prominent families with business empires or are part of political clans would get richer and more famous under his administration if elected.
He said the single standard policy that he wants to implement across-the-board would ensure that crony capitalists will not rise during his term, if and when he is elected as the 17th president.
Presidential candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who was also invited to the celebration, urged Filipinos not to forget to make God the center of their lives.
“You can be the richest man in the world, you can be the most popular person in the world or the powerful in the world. (But) the question is where are you going after your life here in this world?” Pacquiao said.