About Ping
Career of Ping Lacson
By: Dra. Minguita Padilla
“What is right, must be kept right; what is wrong, must be set right.”
For all of his life as a public servant, Senator Panfilo Morena “Ping” Lacson has lived by this motto and has encouraged others to adopt it as well.
And live the motto he did, in public life as a lawmaker, as a law enforcer; and in private life as a husband, father – and now, a grandfather.
Ping came from very humble beginnings. His father was a jeepney driver and his mother would buy goods in Divisoria to sell in their hometown market in Cavite. The fourth of 8 children, He knows what is to be poor. But he also knows that one can be poor yet not be without hope; so long as life was fair; so long as one had the chance for a fair fight. Through his career in public service therefore, Ping has strived to give poor and downtrodden Filipinos a fair chance to earn a decent living.
It pains him in a very significant way to see how the gap between the rich and poor, the influential and ordinary, has grown through the years, mainly because of the unabated and seemingly uncontrolled corruption plaguing the country. With this lament however, he also has a clear vision of helping to create a government where every Filipino will have a fair fight: Patas na Laban, Para sa Lahat.
Ping wants all Filipinos, regardless of social status, to get at least the same opportunities to live peaceful, orderly and respectable lives. His vision is clear. Clean up government, and the rest will follow. To do this however, one needs Political Will, Leadership by Example; and Moral Ascendancy. This will bring change. This will bring HOPE.
The four key priority areas where Ping seeks to bring hope to our people for a better life are the following: Health, Order, Progress, and Education (HOPE).
The importance of Education was ingrained in Ping during childhood when his parents, despite financial hardship, worked hard to send all their children to school. This has been one of the driving forces that has made Ping dream of bringing public education in the country today back to how it was when he was a child; when even a poor boy could get a good education and reach the heights he has; so long as he went to school and studied hard.
Few know the value – and price – of Order as much as Ping, who maintained those principles at the Philippine Constabulary, which he joined after graduation. He would maintain them through all the positions he would hold in 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 Metrodiscom (1989-1992), and as Provincial Director of the Province of Laguna (February to July 1992). He would continue to 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 its Chief (July 1998-January 2001).
But it was when Ping was the Chief of the PNP (November 1999-January 2001) that his principles and leadership resulted in very dramatic changes in one of the most difficult groups to govern. It was during Ping’s stint as Chief PNP that the virtually impossible happened. “Kotong”, the scourge of the poor, disappeared. During Ping’s term as Chief PNP, the tarnished image of our police force as corrupt, pot-bellied men out to mulch hapless drivers and civilians was abolished.
Through his leadership by example, Ping instilled pride, dignity and honesty in our law enforcers. And while he had been the recipient of several awards since his graduation from the PMA in 1971, nothing could compare to the joy he got from his term as chief PNP. His term can be likened to the Camelot of our Police Force, when our police force stood tall in the eyes of all, never to be equaled since.
One of Ping’s fondest childhood memories was that of their town policeman whose simple presence inspired a sense of peace and safety in the young boy and for the entire barrio. This was the image of the Policeman he wanted to bring back, and this he did. During Ping Lacson’s term as Chief PNP, the policeman’s old glory returned, and Filipinos could rest easy that their law enforcers were indeed their protectors.
When EDSA-II cut short his stint as a law enforcer, Ping made the transition to lawmaker, still applying the principle of what is right must be kept right, and what is wrong must be set right, though on a different plane.
While he got derisive comments from some for foregoing his pork barrel fund allocations because he found them to be a major source of temptation to engage in corrupt deals, he earned the respect of the people who really mattered – his constituents.
“Senator Ping” is a formidable figure in every sense of the word. He supports legislation and files bills based on what he truly believes will benefit the country, regardless of pressure from traditional lobby groups and power groups. Health being one of his priorities, he filed a bill creating a reproductive health and population management council to implement an integrated policy that grants access to safe, affordable and quality reproductive health care services and methods, prioritizing the needs of women and children and underprivileged sectors. This he did despite open criticism from some groups because he truly believes that access to an effective population management program is an integral part of promoting health and quality of life.
Progress as a priority area is also driven by his desire to give the ordinary man and woman a fair chance at a decent existence. For example he prepared a government salary rationalization bill to keep salaries of government employees at par with counterparts in the private sector. When he became the Chair of the Committee on Accounts last January, 2009, one of the first things he did was to significantly raise the allowances of all the rank and file employees of the senate. He did this without much noise or fanfare, as is his way.
But Lacson is not all work. He is a deeply involved family man. He is a devoted husband to his wife Alice and a loving father to children Ronald Jay, Panfilo Jr. and Jeric. He is also a doting grandfather.
Someone once said that as far as “Ping Lacson is concerned, you either love him or hate him. You cannot possibly be indifferent.” Perhaps this is so because he is a man who passionately upholds his principles and beliefs. This is never easy; especially in this benighted country where corruption and compromise are par for the course. He thus has his fair share of detractors and critics. But even among these critics, many admire, be it grudgingly, the seriousness of mind, honesty of heart and steadfast conviction of Ping Lacson.
About the Author:
Ma. Dominga “Minguita” Padilla, MD; is a practicing ophthalmologist and president of both the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines and the Drug Abuse Research foundation. Her socio-political commentaries and medical articles have seen publication in many major Philippine Newspapers. She is particularly thrilled at the fact that her essay on institutionalized corruption in the Philippines is featured in the history book “State and Society in the Philippines” (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005). She describes herself as a healer, an advocate, a catalyst, and a writer.