Lacson vows to wipe out thieves under his presidency

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, during one of the Senate’s hybrid plenary sessions. FILE PHOTO / Voltaire F. Domingo

MANILA, Philippines — As the country awaits the new year, presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson vowed to wipe out thieves—both in the streets and in the government—with the help of Filipinos should he be elected in the 2022 polls.

In his New Year video message released on Friday, Lacson said thieves continue to thrive in the country.

“Ang dami pa ring magnanakaw – sa kanto, sa negosyo, sa gobyerno. Sa 2022, kung magtutulong-tulong tayo, ang pagnanakaw, tapos. Ang magnanakaw, ubos,” he said.

[There are still so many thieves – on the street, in business, and in the government. In 2022, if we help each other, we will end thievery. We will wipe out the thieves.]

Lacson is not only referring to petty criminals preying on people on street corners, but also to government officials and unscrupulous businessmen evading taxes or smuggling goods.

Lacson said he has dealt with different types of “thieves” during his five decades in public service.

“I have practically spent my 50 years in public service chasing thieves both in the streets and in the government. There’s not much difference,” the senator, who headed the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 1999 to 2001, said in a Twitter post also on Friday.

I have practically spent my 50 years in public service chasing thieves both in the streets and in the government. There’s not much difference. They are all thieves, period. If it is my fate to catch more, with much authority and power, I will not stop until they’re finished.

— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) December 31, 2021

“They are all thieves, period. If it is my fate to catch more, with much authority and power, I will not stop until they’re finished,” he added.

As PNP chief, Lacson was known for his “no-take policy,” which ended the system of “kotong” or bribery even for traffic cops on jeepney and bus drivers during his time.

He also previously headed the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Task Force. During his stint in the task force, he was “regularly returning rewards offered by families of kidnapping victims his police teams have rescued, saying they were merely doing their jobs,” according to a statement released by Partido Reporma, where Lacson serves as chairman.

In a recent Senate probe, Lacson and vice presidential running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III highlighted the smuggling of agricultural products into the country, which denied the government billions in potential revenue and risks the livelihood of local farmers.

JPV