Presidential candidate Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III have favored more face-to-face work and improvement in internet services for better work-from-home (WFH) arrangements.
“May tama ang economy pagka nag-insist tayo sa work-from-home. Maganda ‘yung on-site. Palabasin ‘yung mga bata, magkaroon ng face-to-face sa classes, tapos Alert Level 1, so gagalaw ‘yung economy, definitely. (The economy will be hurt if we insist on work-from-home (setups). On-site work is good. Let the children out, allow them to have face-to-face classes, then (apply Covid-19) Alert Level 1, so the economy will move, definitely),” Lacson said.
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On the sidelines of their campaign sortie in Sorsogon, he echoed the estimate of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua that the country loses PHP11 billion a week with coronavirus lockdowns or higher pandemic alert levels.
Lacson said that by opening up the economy with enhanced activity, the country would gain P 16 billion a week in terms of goods and services as defined by its gross domestic product (GDP).
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Sotto said, “Yung telecommuting kung pasok doon ang trabaho, okay (ang) work-from-home pero hindi ‘yung, in general, pwede lahat work-from-home—hindi. Ganoon ‘yung tingin namin. Katulad ‘nung messenger ko sa opisina, messenger ‘yon e, lapit ba naman sa akin, sabi sa akin ‘Sir, pwede ba akong work-from-home?’ Batukan kaya kita, sabi ko. Messenger work-from-home?”
Lacson said the government should invest in the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), which was formerly headed by then-Secretary Gregorio Honasan, who is now eyeing a return to the Senate in the May polls.
