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 and as a law enforcer; and in private life as a father – and now, a grandfather.

On occasion, his can be a sharp tongue, but he means no harm, and merely seeks to bring everyone to his wits and senses. He means what he says, and does not engage in doublespeak.

But through his career in public service, Ping discovered that his motto would be best served in four key areas: in Health, Order, Progress, and Education (HOPE). More importantly, he found that HOPE is indeed what Filipinos need most at this time.

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. Ping took the values of integrity and hard work into heart and grew up a very principled person.

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 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 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).

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” has also made a pitch for Health, filing 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.

On Progress, he has prepared a government salary rationalization bill to keep salaries of government employees at par with counterparts in the private sector.

But Lacson is not all work. He is a deeply involved family man. He loves his wife Alice and children Ronald Jay, Panfilo Jr. and Jeric very much. As a doting grandfather, he loves his grandchildren even more.

While he has had his fair share of detractors and critics, some of these critics grudgingly admire – privately and openly – the seriousness of mind, honesty of heart and strong conviction of Ping Lacson.