Former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has pledged to ensure adequate funding for education and health if re-elected to the Senate.

Lacson stated that this could be achieved by exposing wasteful and questionable expenditures and reallocating those funds to educational and health programs.

He is advocating for “Education Plus,” a program aimed at providing free tuition, a monthly allowance of P5,000, and a government internship program for senior high school students.

According to Lacson, a study revealed that only 31 percent of Filipino youth aged 15 aspire to improve their lives, while 69 percent do not share this ambition.

In addition to education, Lacson emphasized that funds from wasteful and questionable appropriations could also be redirected to the Universal Health Care Act, which aims to include all Filipinos in the National Health Insurance Program.

Lacson has prided himself for not availing of the so-called pork barrel fund as a lawmaker.