Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Saturday underscored the need to eradicate corruption to enable the Philippines to strengthen its defense capabilities, particularly in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Lacson cited Japan’s recent seizure of a Chinese fishing vessel and arrest of its skipper off southern Japan, saying the incident highlighted how economic strength and good governance translate into credible military capability.

“Wow Japan! If only the Philippines can eradicate corruption, so we may become an economic power, then we can upgrade our military capability — ergo, we are no longer a pushover country,” Lacson wrote I his X (formerly Twitter). 

Japan has long been embroiled in a territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, similar to the Philippines’ ongoing maritime row with Beijing in the WPS.

Lacson argued that eliminating corruption is a prerequisite to achieving economic growth comparable to that of advanced economies like Japan, which in turn would allow the Philippines to modernize its armed forces and better assert its territorial rights.

A longtime critic of government irregularities, Lacson has previously exposed alleged anomalies, including questionable insertions in the national budget. He recently chaired hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigating reported irregularities in flood control projects, stressing that inquiries must be anchored on facts and evidence.

However, the senator acknowledged that his anti-corruption advocacy has come at a personal cost.

“Déjà vu. When I took the chairmanship of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, I knew I could lose some friends and create new enemies,” Lacson said. “I had exactly the same feeling when I delivered my ‘Living Without Pork’ privilege speech in March 2003.”

In that speech, Lacson called for the abolition of the pork barrel system, a move that placed him at odds with several colleagues but cemented his reputation as an anti-corruption crusader.

For Lacson, confronting corruption is not only a matter of governance but also of national security — arguing that funds lost to graft could otherwise be channeled to economic development and military modernization, especially amid rising tensions in disputed waters.