Lacson reunites with former PAOCTF staff member in Zamboanga del Norte (Sabong News)

The recent visit of presidential candidate Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ M. Lacson to Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte became a reunion of sorts with his former Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) staff member Salvador Antojado, Jr., who is now running the small town. Lacson campaigned in the municipality, Thursday (March 31), along with senatorial candidates Dr. Minguita Padilla and former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Piñol. The latter organized their sorties in the Zamboanga Peninsula this week. While they may have worked together under the PAOCTF, Lacson said he and Mayor Antojado only met for the first time. He was happy to see he’s doing well in Kalawit, just lamented the fact that they did not get in touch with each other more often, so he could have done more for his town. “Ako’y natutuwa na siya’y isang mayor dito sa maliit na bayan ng Kalawit. Sabi nga ni Secretary Piñol maliit lang ang population, pero napaka-symbolic ng pagpunta namin diton (I am glad he is the mayor in this small town of Kalawit. Like what Secretary Piñol said, although it has a relatively small population, our visit here is symbolic),’’ Lacson remarked in a town hall meeting hosted by the mayor at the Kalawit Municipal Gym. He took the opportunity to catch up with Antojado, who, just like him, entered politics to continue his public service after retiring from law enforcement. Lacson said they talked about many things including their past experiences in the trenches. ‘’It felt good to tell stories from the past, but while you were there the situation was very difficult. You’re deep in the mud so you would not get hit by bullets, you’re swimming in the creek to avoid an ambush, and other experiences. Thank God, we finally met each other. I was his boss but we haven’t really seen each other back in the day,’’ Lacson told the Kalawit constituents. During their meeting, Lacson said he was informed by Antojado of the difficulties he has been experiencing in trying to help the national government implement its ‘Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (Back to the Province, New Hope) program due to lack of funding support. ‘’He presented to us his ‘Balik Probinsya’ (program), the implementation, and I felt sad because the project was good. But what happened? Funding shortage,’’ he added. “Ang problema kasi sa ating national government, hindi nila alam ano ba ‘yung mga priorities, ano ba ‘yung mga needs ng mga local government unit (LGU), lalo na sa isang malayong bayan na tulad ng Kalawit (Because the problem with our national government is they do not know what are the priorities, what are the needs of our local government units, especially in a far-flung community like the town of Kalawit.),’’ Lacson explained. Antojado also took Lacson, Dr. Padilla and Piñol at the site where the housing units for the resettlement of ‘Balik Probinsya’ beneficiaries were being constructed. Kalawit is a fourth-class municipality in Zamboanga del Norte with roughly 23,812 people. Had Lacson been made aware of this issue sooner, he said he could have supported Mayor Antojado, who might have held his reservations in seeking his help during his third term in the Senate because he knew he did not have pork barrel funds to tap. But since this could be considered a water under the bridge type of situation now, Lacson offered instead his Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) that would enable better funding for the implementable projects of LGUs under his presidency. Lacson also connected Antojado with National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon after learning that Kalawit has been cleared of insurgents, which makes the town eligible to receive a P20-million Barangay Development Fund courtesy of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). ‘’Right away, I texted General Esperon earlier. He is the National Security Adviser tasked to supervise the distribution of funds for the NTF-ELCAC. I asked him particularly about the situation in Barangay Poblacion in Kalawit. How come the P20-million (development fund) has not yet arrived when the President already approved the national budget for 2022?),’’ he said.