Independent presidential candidate Panfilo Lacson blamed gaps in the implementing rules and regulations for weaknesses in some important legislation during a dialogue with the people of Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.
“Kami, gawa kami nang gawa ng batas, ang problema pagdating sa implementation, IRR pa lamang nababago na. Parang nagkakaroon ng panibagong batas na hindi tumutugon doon sa batas na ipinasa ng Kongreso,” Lacson told participants in one of their recent town hall meetings.
A discussion on this topic was brought up when a college professor said Republic Act 9178 or the Barangay Micro-Business Enterprise Act of 2002 was not being felt by people on the ground due to lack of support from local government units (LGUs).
The professor, who has been teaching business-related courses to his students, noted that the apparent lack of oversight on the proper implementation of a law such as RA 9178 has been making it difficult for him to encourage people to try their luck on a micro enterprise.
Lacson said he understood this particular observation because they’ve been asking the same questions themselves whenever they exercise their oversight function. He mentioned that the provisions stated in the legislation must carry more weight over the IRR, but that is often not the case.
“Mayroon tayong kasabihan, ‘di ba, ‘yung ‘water cannot be higher than its source.’ ‘Pag ito ‘yung batas, ito’y nananalig sa ating Saligang-Batas, which is the fundamental law of the land. At ‘yung ipinasang batas dapat mas mataas kaysa doon sa tinatawag na implementing rules and regulations,” he explained.
Among the many badly implemented laws the Lacson-Sotto tandem frequently cite during their public speaking engagements were the ‘Bayanihan Acts’ at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the distribution of financial aid packages turned chaotic, to the extent that some of its intended recipients did not get anything.
