To Malaya Business Insight: I wish to set the record straight regarding some points in Mr. Dody Lacuna’s October 3, 2023 column in Malaya Business-Insight, particularly where he mentioned some “details” of the kidnapping of Meneleo Carlos in 1994.
Bago pa man siya nakilalang “pork hunter” ng Senado, kinatatakutan na kalaban si Panfilo “Ping” Lacson ng mga kidnap-for-ransom gangs – hindi lamang sa Metro Manila, kundi pati na rin sa Cebu.
Inaalala ni campaign spokesperson Ashley Acedillo kung paano namangha ang mga Cebuano sa pamamahala ni Lacson sa Metropolitan District Command ng Philippine Constabulary sa Cebu noong 1980s.
“Maybe the newer generation of Cebuanos were too young to remember that kidnapping was once a dreaded scourge in Cebu. It was only a certain Police Colonel Ping Lacson who turned the tables and became the scourge of the kidnappers,” ani Acedillo na lumaki sa Cebu.
Before he became the “pork hunter” of the Senate, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson was the scourge of kidnap-for-ransom gangs – not only in Metro Manila, but in Cebu.
Campaign spokesperson Ashley Acedillo recalled how Cebuanos were in awe of Lacson when he headed the Philippine Constabulary’s Metropolitan District Command in Cebu in the late 1980s.
“Maybe the newer generation of Cebuanos were too young to remember that kidnapping was once a dreaded scourge in Cebu. It was only a certain Police Colonel Ping Lacson who turned the tables and became the scourge of the kidnappers,” said Acedillo, who grew up in Cebu.
The President couldn’t have chosen a better qualified Chief Justice. Chief Justice Peralta is backed by a wealth of judicial experience, having started his career as a prosecutor, then as RTC judge, Sandiganbayan presiding justice and a Senior Associate Justice of the Court for more than a decade.
He is known for his integrity and competence, and one who enjoys the respect of his peers and others inside and outside the legal circle. I have known him all the way back when he was QC RTC judge who convicted almost if not all the KFR (kidnapping-for-ransom) suspects I apprehended when I was still in the law-enforcement service.
Many of the legal opinions that I – being a non-lawyer – have expressed during our committee hearings and plenary debates are in consultation with Justice Peralta. That is why I feel extremely confident when I manifest such opinions.
In interviews on DWIZ, Sen. Lacson answered questions on:
– possible legislative remedies to the GCTA law
– irony of the release of convicted drug lords via GCTA amid anti-drug war
– the woman who signed the release papers for Chiong case convicts
– ‘Designated Survivor’ bill
In an interview on DZMM, Sen. Lacson answered questions on:
– possible irregularities in the ‘Good Conduct Time Allowance’ system
– fear felt by kin of KFR victims due to possible release of KFR convicts due to GCTA
Directing the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs to inquire in aid of legislation on the various reported Incidents of kidnap-for-ransom perpetrated by members of the PNP.