Magalong Vouches For Former PNP Chief Lacson

Good governance beyond politics. This is the brand of public service Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has impressed on his coworkers and subordinates over the years, leading many of them to believe and attest that he is the kind of leader the country needs come the May 9 elections. 

Among those Lacson has impressed is Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who said in a radio interview that the way the presidential candidate has conducted himself over a half-century career as a soldier, policeman, lawmaker and government official has underscored Lacson’s ability to serve the Filipino without expecting a reward for himself. 

And the three-term senator’s type of governance is one that can be duplicated, as Magalong himself has proven since becoming mayor of the Philippines’ summer capital in 2019, he explained to “Balitang Sapolitika” earlier this week. 

“How (Lacson) led the Philippine National Police (is) very transparent, there really is a strong sense of accountability. And you know, it’s all about governance and it’s the same thing that I’m applying. Good governance beyond politics—that’s my battle cry now in the City of Baguio,” he told the Politiko Live radio program. 

The first-term mayor said he has thrown his support behind his former boss not just because he is a former police general himself, but because the Partido Reporma chief’s principles on leadership and his lifelong mantra that “ang tama, ipaglaban, ang mali, labanan” (what’s right must be kept right, what is wrong must be set right) can truly bring the country to a better place. 

Case in point is Baguio itself, which has reaped various international and national awards in the last 2.5 years under the Magalong administration – proving that Lacson has truly left a positive and lasting impact on the country through others who have followed his examples. 

“The reason why I am this kind of person is because (of) someone when I was in the PNP. When I was serving under him, (he) has so much influence in the way I think, in the way I govern, in the way I manage—and that’s Senator Panfilo Lacson,” Magalong said, noting that Lacson has all the qualities of a true leader. 

Magalong said Lacson’s tenure as PNP chief from 1999 to 2001, when he wiped out “kotong” from the force by cascading the national police’s budget down to the precinct level, proved that an official could govern a national organization without falling to corruption or compromising their principles. 

Meanwhile, not once did Lacson take a bribe or even receive a token item or reward from grateful citizens while in a leadership position, only saying it was all in a day’s work, the mayor also recounted. 

After the PNP, Lacson sought to do the same in the Senate over 18 years by being the only senator to refuse his “pork barrel” allocation, meticulously watching over the national budget, and delivering exposes that uncovered anomalies in government and led to stronger laws for the benefit of Filipinos. 

Magalong is running for reelection under the Nationalist People’s Coalition – the party of Lacson’s running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III – and vowed to continue the Lacson brand of governance “because it’s all about consistency, it’s all about conviction, it’s all about commitment.” 

“Let us not give up (our support for Lacson) because we know he is the only person who can fix our country. I saw it. I have personal experience (on how he leads) and I have strong conviction that if there’s anyone who can lead this country, (it is Lacson). Because we can never do trial and error this time,” Magalong said.