Ping faces his toughest challenge

PerryScope
By Perry Diaz

Is anyone surprised that President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III picked former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as the “rehabilitation czar” to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan? And it probably surprised Lacson, too. Why? Well, who would take this “rehab czar” job and expect to rebuild more than a million homes?

The pessimist would probably say, “He’s doomed to fail!” while the optimist might say, “Ping could do it!” The pragmatist would say, “Give Ping a chance.” But the realist hit it right on the head, “Is Ping the right person for the job?” But here’s the thing: they could all be right!

But the overriding question that comes to mind is: Why did P-Noy appoint Ping and why didn’t he appoint a loyal family friend, Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay, who is currently serving as the “housing czar”?

There must be something that made P-Noy pick the inexperienced Ping Lacson for the job instead of the experienced “housing czar.” For one thing, Ping did not use his pork barrel allocations during his 12-year stint in the Senate, which made him stand out among his peers as “untainted” at a time when three senators were implicated in the pork barrel scam operated by the notorious “pork barrel queen,” Janet Lim-Napoles. This is a big plus for Ping because as the “rehab czar” he’ll manage the funds from the government as well as the huge foreign aid that doesn’t seem to end. It is a situation that could be tempting to the hordes of unscrupulous public officials who would prey on the helpless victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Isn’t that what happened to the Malampaya funds that were released to help the farmers displaced by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng?

But Ping was unsure of him doing the job. He asked P-Noy to give him three days to mull it over. And the day Ping accepted the job, he called for a press conference and told the media that he accepted the job – which is estimated to cost P40 billion — after talking to experts in the field of reconstruction and rehabilitation of disaster-stricken areas. “I want to do the job with flying colors. I want to do the best for the job,” he said.

But flying colors or not, getting the job done would be a Herculean task that only a strong-willed person could accomplish. Just imagine the enormity of the work to be done. According to the latest report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, 5,670 people have died, 26,233 injured, and 1,761 missing. More than 11.2 million were affected in 588 municipalities and 57 cities including over 200,000 residents staying inside evacuation centers. More than four million people were displaced and more than a million houses were destroyed or damaged. Indeed, Ping has his work cut out for him.

But Ping is undaunted by these numbers. He’s cautiously optimistic that completing the rehabilitation before P-Noy’s term ends in June 2016 is “doable.”

And “doable” means that Ping has to run his shop with an “iron fist” and use both a “dictatorial” and “consultative” style – as he described it — of management. Given his long professional career in law enforcement, he’d be a natural when it comes to disciplining erring subordinates.

Checkered career

Commissioned in the Philippine Constabulary (PC) upon graduation from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1971, Ping rose through the ranks. In 1992, then-President Fidel V. Ramos appointed him to the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC) — which was headed by then-Vice President Joseph “Erap” Estrada — as Chief of Task Force Habagat. In 1996, he was appointed project officer of Special Project Alpha.

Top police officials led by Supt. Jewel Canson (extreme right) and beside him, Supt. Romeo Acop, were implicated in the 1995 killing of Kuratong members. [photo courtesy of Malaya]

Lacson reached the apex of his career in 1999 when then-President Estrada appointed him to head the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) and also to serve as Director-General of what used to be the PC, now the Philippine National Police (PNP). During Ping’s stint as the country’s top law enforcer, there was a considerable reduction of corrupt policemen, gambling syndicates, and drug cartels.

But his law enforcement career was fraught with controversy. In 1995, Ping was implicated in a supposed shootout between police officers under the Task Force Habagat and members of the Kuratong Baleleng crime syndicate. Eleven members of Kuratong Baleleng were killed, which led many to believe that it was a rubout, not a shootout. Last December 2012, the Supreme Court affirmed a Quezon City court’s decision dismissing the multiple murder charges against Lacson and his co-accused.

Bubby Dacer and Emmanuel Corbito

In another case, Ping was implicated in the abduction and murder of Bubby Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000. A former police senior superintendent, Cezar Mancao, named Ping as the mastermind of the double murder.

Political ambitions

In 2001, Lacson ran for senator and won. In 2004, he ran for president against incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He lost in that election. He ran for re-election in 2007 and retained his seat in the Senate.

But all these years, the Dacer-Corbito case haunted him. On January 5, 2010, Lacson left the country after it was rumored that an arrest warrant was about to be issued. True enough, on February 5, 2010, a Manila Regional Trial Court issued an arrest warrant against Ping. A year later, the Court of Appeals withdrew the murder charges against him, citing Mancao as “not a credible and trustworthy witness.” On March 26, 2011, Ping returned to Manila.

Termed out last June 2013, Lacson kept a low profile as he mulled over what to do next. At 65 years of age, Ping doesn’t seem like he would retire from public service soon. Indeed, as early as last March, P-Noy admitted that Lacson would be joining his administration after his term ended. At that time, he didn’t know where to put him. But rumors were abounding that P-Noy was considering Ping to be the “anti-corruption czar” or “anti-crime czar.” He’d fit well into the job since he’s one of only two senators who didn’t use their pork barrel allocations; therefore, he doesn’t have excess baggage to carry around in his new job. Well, Yolanda changed all that. Ping is now joining the Aquino administration as a cabinet-ranked “rehabilitation czar.”

Ping Lacson and Jejomar Binay

But no sooner had Ping accepted the job than rumors started circulating that he’s tuning up his political vehicle for a potential run for president in 2016. However, everything hinges on his performance as “rehab czar.” If he does a mediocre job, then he would be out of the game. But if he succeeds in finishing at least 60% of the job a year before the 2016 elections, he’d be a formidable presidential contender. And it might ease party-mate Mar Roxas out of the presidential derby, who is currently the only presidentiable from the Liberal Party.

At the end of the day, the 2016 presidential contest could be between two towering czars: Jojo Binay, the “housing czar”; and Ping Lacson, the “rehab czar.” But Binay is a formidable opponent. His popularity rating continues to be “very good.”

Ping faces the toughest challenge in his life. He has to overcome the stigma of his checkered past. But his reputation as a straight shooter is overpowering and there is one thing going for him: He never gives up. Indeed, he’s a tough act to follow.

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)