About Ping
The Man Behind the Relentless Warrior
By: Dra. Minguita Padilla
Part III: A Mother’s Grief
One early evening in the year 1995, when Ping Lacson, then the Chief of Task Force Habagat, was watching the news from his quarters at Camp Crame, a news story came on, one that truly broke his heart.
An inconsolable mother was weeping because of the death of her daughter at the hands of a notorious robbery gang that had been wreaking havoc in the metropolis. Her daughter just happened to be at the vicinity of the latest bank robbery of this band of thieves, and her only mistake was to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. This young woman had just passed the nursing board examinations after years of study, made possible only because her mother had practically worked herself to the bone. She was her mother's hope for a better life. She was her mother's pride and joy. But in a flicker of a moment, amidst the hail of gunfire courtesy of brazen criminals, all the hope and joy a mother held in her heart were taken from her. In their place was the lifeless and bullet riddled body of a beloved daughter who would never fulfill the dream she and her mother had worked for together, had held together, and had planned to live together. That mother's grief was unfathomable.
The band of criminals responsible for the mother's misery was the Kuratong Baleleng Gang.
Wikepedia describes the Kuratong Baleleng Gang as a "criminal syndicate which operates in the cities of Ozamiz, Cagayan De Oro, Pagadian and Dipolog, and other neighboring cities and municipalities in Mindanao (in southern Philippines), Cebu in Visayas (in Central Philippines), and Metro Manila in Luzon (in northern Philippines). The group is engaged in robbery/hold-up, car napping, illegal drugs trafficking, smuggling of rice and sugar, human smuggling, gun running, extortion, loan sharking, prostitution, illegal gambling, murder for hire, and protection rackets from politicians, businessmen and drug dealers." Wikepedia further describes them as "untouchables", who have connections with high government officials as well as international crime syndicates.
The Kuratong Baleleng Gang was already in the order of battle of law enforcement agencies even before Ping Lacson saw that news coverage. They had already victimized many establishments in Metro Manila, especially banks, with their bold and brutal robberies that more often than not had left people killed or badly wounded. But that night, seeing the grief of this mother was the turning point. Ping was moved by so much pity that he immediately promised himself that he would catch these men. He made their capture a priority. And capture them his men did, in a controversial encounter on May 18, 1995 that left 11 of the gang members dead.
Hundreds who were victimized by the gang rejoiced. Employees and executives of banks and other commercial establishments heaved a great sigh of relief, confident that they could again go to work without fear that they may be next on the list of casualties of these murdering thieves. The streets of Manila were safe once more from assault by this dangerous band of criminals. But like a double edged sword, and perhaps also because of the criminal group's connections in high places, this success would also become the source of criticism and innuendo that would be used as fodder to feed black propaganda against Ping Lacson. He dared to touch the "untouchables". This made some very powerful people extremely unhappy.
While Ping Lacson was not directly in charge of the field operations against the KB, but then Colonel Jewel Canson, he was seen as an opportune target for vilification, particularly as he was deemed to be close to then Vice-President Joseph "ERAP" Estrada, who chaired the Presidential Commission against Crime (PACC) under whom Task Force Habagat operated. Some quarters used this as a means to compromise both Ping and Erap, and perhaps stand in the way of the latter's chance at the presidency. History would eventually show that the strategy did not work as Estrada went on to win the Presidency in 1998.
Cases for multiple murder against the police officers involved in the encounter, including Ping Lacson, were filed; then dismissed for lack of probable cause; then resurrected again as a political ploy. In the tragic comedy that is Philippine Politics, the Kuratong baleleng issue has since become part of the armamentarium of the "Ping Lacson bashers"; particularly those high up in government. It is a "bogeyman" they like to bring up in their incessant effort to intimidate and harass him and paint him in a bad light. Fortunately however, the effort backfires as soon as people are made aware of the big picture; including the dark, vested interests at play.
Touching the "untouchable"; thinking the "unthinkable"; doing the "undoable". These became trademarks of Ping's career; trademarks that manifested most when he became the Chief of the Philippine National Police.