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Senator Panfilo Morena “Ping” Lacson means everything he says. You can
trust
his word. And
he says what he wants to say. On the occasions, his can
be a
sharp tongue. He means no harm. He only wants to bring
everyone to his
wits
and senses. There is no body language needing mystical interpretations.
There is no doublespeak
needing complex deciphering. These two
characteristics are ingrained in the Lacson family of Imus, Cavite. He
family
grows only persons of principle. Lacson is a very principled
person.
His fascination with principles became more deeply
embedded at the
Philippine Military Academy where he graduated in 1971. He nourished
those
principles at the Philippine
Constabulary, which he joined after
graduation.
He worked on them at the Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group
(1971-1986), PC-INP Anti-Carnapping Task Force (1986-1988), as
Provincial
Commander of the Province of Isabela
(1988-1989), as Commander of Cebu
Metrodisccom (1989-1992) , and as Provincial Director of the Province
of
Laguna
(February to July 1992). He would nourish the same principles at
the
Presidential Anti-Crime Commission as Chief,
Task Force Habagat
(1992-1995).
He would live by them at the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task
Force as
PAOCTF
Chief (July 1998-January 2001). And he would apply them to
everyone
at the Philippine National Police as its Chief,
PNP (November
1999-January
2001). Senator Lacson’s cardinal principle is very inspiring. What is
right
right,
must be kept right. What is wrong, must be set right. This is a
leader principle that made him a recipient in 1982 of
PC Metrodiscom
Officer
of the Year, 2 Outstanding Achievement Medals, 5 Bronze Cross Medals,
17
Military Merit
Medals, 3 Medalya ng Kadakilaa, and 3 Medalya ng
Kagalingan
Awards. In 1988 he received the Ten Outstanding Policemen
of the
Philippines
(TOPP) and PMA Alumni Achievement Award, among others. In academe, the
AFP
Command and
General Staff College awarded him with a Certificate of
Academic
Excellence. He earned his Masters in Government Management
from
Pamantasan
ng Lungsod ng Maynila. But Lacson is not all work. He is a
deeply-involved
family man. He
loves his wife Alice and children Ronald, Panilo Jr. and
Jeric very much. As a dotting grandfather, he loves his grandchildren
even
more. What do the Filipino People think of him? Very highly. As Chief,
PNP,
he enjoyed a very high awareness
of 93% and a high approval rating of
73%
nationwide. He has some critics, as every good leader does. But,
friends,
it
must be told, however, that even these critics admire – privately and
openly
– the honesty of mind,
honesty of heart, honesty of life of Lacson.
According to one such critic, Lacson is still the best thing that ever
happened
to the Philippine National Police and to peace and order in
the
Philippines. LEGISLATIVE AGENDA OF SENATOR PANFILO
M. LACSON The
Legislative
agenda of Senator Lacson will focus primarily on good governance and
peace
and order.
Moreover, the good Senator will likewise introduce
legislation
designed not only to improve the present state and
welfare of law
enforcement enforcers but will also arm them with necessary tools to
effectively discharge their duties
to combat criminality. LAW
ENFORCEMENT
AND CRIMINALITY 1. Money Laundering Bill This is a measure intended to
deprive
organized crime syndicates of the proceeds of their illegal
activities. In particular, this bill seeks to criminalize
money
laundering
so as to deprive persons of the benefits are proceeds deprived from,
the
commission of the
offense, to provide for the forfeiture of property
used in
or in connection with the commission of such offenses and
to enable law
enforcement authorities to effectively trace such proceeds benefits and
property. 2. Currently Monitoring
System Bill Basically, a system of
reporting will be introduced into the financial system that would
monitor,
consolidate
and analyze large cash transactions; transfer of currency
into
and out of the country, all international fund transfer
transactions
and
suspect transactions. This system has been utilized effectively by
developed
countries, particularly,
the United States and Australia. 3.
Anti-terrorism
Bill This bill seek to provide adequate, efficient and effective
legal
counter measures in order to protect and secure the people from the
occurrence or incidence or terrorism and,
necessarily, to strengthen
the
capability of the government to defer, detect, prevent, respond to, and
eliminate
terroristic activities. This includes provisions authorizing
wire-tapping, inquiry into bank deposits and warrantless
arrests
subject to
restrictions and safeguards to prevent its abuse. 4. Anti-Human
Trafficking
Bill This bill
seek to address human trafficking which has become one
of the
most lucrative criminal enterprise in the world by penalizing
the
perpetrators and at the same time giving protection to victims. 5.
Anti-Trust Bill The proposed bill seeks to
penalize combinations or
conspiracies in restraint of trade and all forms of machinations that
will
injure, destroy
or prevent free market competition. It is designed to
be a
comprehensive charter of economic liberty aimed at preserving
free and
unfettered competitions as the rule of trade. 6. National ID System
This
bill seeks to establish an effective
system to curb the perennial
problems
of red tape in the bureaucracy and to simplify the process relative to
public
and private transactions of citizens. This bill will establish a
system to properly and efficiently identify person seeking
basic
services
and social security reduce, if not totally eradicate, fraudulent
transactions and misrepresentations
7. Code of Crimes This bill seeks
to
codify into a single document all crimes penalized under the Revised
Penal
Code and other special laws. BENEFITS FOR THE PNP 1. A Magna Carta for
the
Philippine National Police This bill
shall serve as a framework for the
professionalization of the Philippine National Police. Among its
important
features
are the establishment and maintenance of continuous PNP
Development
Programs, re-definition and clarification of police
officer’s duties
and
responsibilities and granting of more rights and privileges to members
of
the PNP.
OTHERS: 1. Optional Military Service (Amendment to ROTC Law)
This
bill seeks to amend the provisions of existing law
requiring compulsory
military training. In lieu thereof, the bill propose alternative forms
of
training which
is non-combatant and civilian in nature designed to
inculcate
I our youth a sense of national discipline and community
involvement.
2.
Establishment of a Philippine Air Force Academy This bill seeks to
create an
Air Force Academy
geared towards making available adequate and
dedicated
corps of professional Air Force officers with the proper education,
training
and orientation to lead and manage the complex technologies inherent in
the
field of aviation.
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