The second district deserves the funds

He is mincing no words. He is banking on a settled moral authority that he never touch with a ten foot pole the pork barrel reserved, or shall we say inserted for members of congress and the senate.

That’s Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’Lacson who in the previous weeks was so insistent that there were pork barrel insertions in the next year P3.7 trillion budget.

Many people believe him. But as they say, there are always two sides in an issue.

In an effort to tell the truth that will land in the front pages he manifestly wronged former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when he pictured the latter to have taken advantage of her being the speaker of the House of Representatives.

That GMA got a whooping P.2.4 billion worth of projects for the second congressional district of Pampanga which she r epr esent s.

Coming to the rescue, Congressman Rolando Andaya of Camarines Sur who is currently the majority floor leader said 99 congressmen got more than what GMA will get for her district. In short, the second congressional district of Pampanga ranked number 100 in terms of budget allocation.

But as usual, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ‘the official bulletin of the yellows’feasted on the disclosure of Lacson.

Now to complete the story. There’s now a deep resentment against the senator voiced by the people of the second district of Pampanga.

The reason is why Senator Ping always wanted to put on a bad light their representative. The P2.4 billion worth of projects that will be equitably distributed to the district’s five towns namely, Porac, Sta. Rita, Guagua, Sasmuan,Florida Blanca and Lubao are the needed funding for the many delayed infrastructures.

These projects were not funded and attended by the past administration.

Former President Benigno Aquino I suspect deliberately withheld any funding for Congresswoman Arroyo’s congressional district. Of course everyone knows on just how much Aquino despise till today former President GMA.

As far as the Capampangans are concerned, nothing is anomalous on the P2.4 billion wangled by GMA from the national budget. End of the story.

TIDBITS: The official campaign period for the May 2019 elections is still many months away, yet candidates seemingly can’t wait. Many are on the campaign trail now...

The battlegrounds where it will be a seesaw battle till the day of the elections are Magalang, Mabalacat, Porac, Angeles City, San Fernando, Sto. Tomas.

There are other areas too... in the City of San Fernando, incumbent Mayor Edwin Santiago is on alert mode as his opponent Councilor Vilma Caluag is getting the support of many sectors...

All the big names in local politics in Sto. Tomas are in support of Gloria ‘Ninang’Ronquillo. Incumbent Mayor John Sambo is banking on the support of Congressman Rimpy Bondoc...Congressman Jonjon Lazatin is well ahead in all surveys. If the elections are held today in the first congressional district, it will be a landslide victory for the young Lazatin.

THE Commission on Population (PopCom) recently announced it was “scaling up” its public education campaign to promote the need for “informed choice” so couples can plan their families.

PopCom executive director Juan Antonio Perez III pointed out that “many women remain unable to exercise their right to informed choice with the high incidence of unplanned pregnancies,” reported “The Philippine Star” on Nov. 25.

According to Perez, “informed choice” refers to the awareness women have about the methods available for planning their family in terms of the number and spacing of the children, the possible side effects of their chosen birth control methods, opportunities for access to assistance on family planning services, and other relevant information.

Based on the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey, 11 percent of births were “not wanted at all;” “16 percent were wanted but at a later time;” and “73 percent of births were planned at the time of conception.”

The PopCom’s campaign on reproductive health, particularly