Senator Loren Legarda’s Manifestation of Support on Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s Privilege Speech on Corruption

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I rise today in support of the privilege speech of my colleague, Senator Lacson, and I echo his outrage at the corruption that continues to stain our flood control programs and many other public projects. Billions, and possibly even trillions of pesos are lost, substandard works are delivered, and yet—year after year—the floods still come, washing away homes, dreams, and lives.

Pero kung tutuusin, hindi lang po ito problema ng flood control. Itong sakit ng korapsyon ay paulit-ulit na lang, paulit-ulit din ang ating mga imbestigasyon, at paulit-ulit ang panawagan para sa mas mabigat na parusa. We have been hell-bent on punitive measures—kulong dito, kaso doon—and while punishment is important, history tells us it has not been enough. It has to be coupled with a more meaningful strategy to reform our governance systems.

We must be able to treat corruption as a developmental issue that everyone must act on and address.

Kung gusto natin ng tunay na pagbabago, kailangan natin baguhin hindi lang ang batas kundi ang kultura. Corruption thrives when people begin to think, “ganyan na talaga, wala tayong magagawa.” When children grow up hearing “lahat naman nangungurakot,” we are planting the wrong seeds. Ang laban natin dapat ay hindi lang pang-isang henerasyon. It must be a generational shift—a culture where honesty, transparency, and accountability are the norm, not the exception.

That is why I support long-term approaches such as the proposed Tapat na Paglilingkod Act, which does not only punish wrongdoing but seeks to prevent it—by embedding strategies that promote integrity in planning, budgeting, and service delivery, by protecting whistleblowers, by making agencies map their own corruption risks, and by teaching integrity as early as our schools. Sa madaling salita, hindi sustainable kung puro na lang crackdown ang ating ginagawa, kundi dapat sabayan natin ito ng culture shift.

Mr. President, corruption is not just a legal issue. It is a mindset issue. We must break the cycle where every new administration starts a “clean government” campaign but fails to outlast its term. Ang kailangan natin ay pamana—institutions, systems, and values that will last beyond us. Kasi kung hindi natin maipapamana ang kultura ng katapatan, maipapamana lang natin ang kultura ng katiwalian.

So yes, we must investigate. Yes, we must prosecute. But alongside that, we must also nurture a culture of tapat na paglilingkod, so that the next generation will not even think twice about choosing honesty. Bukod pa sa paglinis ng baha at basura sa lansangan—kailangan na natin tutukan rin ang paglilinis ng ating pamahalaan at Lipunan nang sa gayon hindi na tayo bahain pa ng katiwalian muli. Thank you, Sen. Ping,

Thank you, Mr. President.