Lacson: ‘I’d send corrupt friends to jail if I were president’

Former Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Former-Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Tuesday that if he were president he would send his friends or allies to jail if they were proven corrupt.

Interviewed on cable news television, Lacson said he was “seriously considering” seeking the country’s top political post and that he would be running on a strong anti-corruption platform.

“There should only be one standard. When you fight corruption, you don’t find who are your allies, your friends or enemies,” Lacson said.

Told by the host that his anti-corruption stance sounded similar to that of President Joseph Estrada’s “Walang kamag-anak, walang kaibigan” slogan, Lacson said “It should be that way. But implementing it is a different matter.”

Lacson cited an example from his days as PNP chief.

He said he had a “kumpare,” a regional director in the PNP, his “long-time friend, and comrade in Cebu.”

“Sinabi ko na no-take tayo sa jueteng. (I said we should not take money from illegal gambling) Nung makita sa blue book (ng jueteng protectors) ang pangalan niya, right away I called him ‘You have to get out,’ he said.

Later, Lacson added, he subjected his friend to summary dismissal proceedings.

“There is no other way. We have to correct government in order to correct the country,” he stressed.

Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police who was known for a no-nonsense anti-corruption campaign in the police force, said his plans depended on his getting double-digit figures in upcoming presidential surveys.

In the most recent presidential survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), Lacson placed 12th after getting only one percent of the responses of 1,200 voting-age Filipinos polled from March 20 to 23, 2015.

However, he said, their own surveys have shown him getting “double digit” figures, which he said was “very encouraging.”

He revealed that he was busy “going around” and getting the feel of the electorate. CB