Lacson in favor of same-sex civil unions, mandatory military service

Presidential aspirant and Senator Panfilo Lacson said Saturday he supports the introduction of same-sex civil unions in the Philippines as part of his push for gender equality.

Lacson said the LGBTQ community should be treated equally and not be discriminated against.

“Yes yung gender equality should be there. Kailangan talaga itrato mo lahat ng homosexuals na parang lahat ng heterosexuals. Walang special attention pero huwag mo rin idiscriminate. Let them act and be treated like anyone of us,” he said in an interview with the Manila Bulletin.

(Yes, gender equality should be there. You must treat all homosexuals like all heterosexuals. There should be no special attention. Do not discriminate. Let them act and be treated like any of us.)

Lacson said he is in favor of same-sex civil unions as same-sex marriage would not be permitted by the Catholic Church.

“Yung same-sex marriage hindi uubra sa Catholic Church.  Ang sa akin yung legal union, yung civil union okay yon so that they can also be treated equally as any man and woman na mag-aasawa,” he said.

(Same-sex marriage is not acceptable to the Catholic Church. I prefer legal union or civil union. It's okay so that they can also be treated equally as any man and woman who get married.)

Mandatory military service

Lacson also welcomed Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s proposal for a mandatory military service program for 18-year-olds, saying it would help instill patriotism in young Filipinos.

“Over time marealize mo rin na mas mainam yung mga kabataan natin parang iba yung sense of patriotism na nararamdaman mo pag nakauniporme ka speaking from experience actually,” he said.

(Over time, you will realize that it's better for young people because the sense of patriotism feels different once you wear the service uniform. I am speaking from experience, actually.)

Lacson, an alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy, is a former national police chief.

Stance on abortion

Meanwhile, Lacson opposes abortion, arguing that "life is life" no matter the circumstances.

“Ang abortion nasa Constitution na talagang from conception hindi mo pwedeng kitilin yung buhay. Sa akin ang bottomline is yung buhay ay buhay no matter what the circumstances are buhay pa rin yun,” he said.

(On abortion, the Constitution states that from the start of conception, you can't kill any life. For me, the bottom line is that life is life, no matter what the circumstances are. It is still life.)

Abortion is illegal in the Philippines.

Real enemies

Asked who among the presidential aspirants he respects the most, Lacson said, “all of them."

“All of them because hindi naman sila yung kalaban eh. Mali yung notion na porket sila yung competitors katunggali we don’t look at them as kalaban. Ang kalaban natin dito pandemic, joblessness, kahirapan,” he said.

(All of them, because they are not the real enemies. It's a wrong notion that just because they are our competitors, we should look at them as enemies. Our enemies here are the pandemic, joblessness, and poverty.)

“It is about time we are facing a lot of problems that need top solutions, coming from top leaders. Hindi natin makukuha 'yan sa siraan sa politika. Wala na rin tayong pupuntahan as a country,” he added.

(It is about time. We are facing a lot of problems that need top-notch solutions from top leaders. We will not be able to solve them through political mudslinging. We will be going nowhere as a country.)

Lacson also vowed to raise the allowance of teachers to address the lack of manpower in the education sector if he is elected president in May. — VBL, GMA News