Kidnap-for-ransom victims who were rescued from captivity have been signing up as volunteers in sending Partido Reporma chairman and standard Sen. Panfilo Lacson to Malacañang.
Lacson, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police, has been credited for saving dozens of KFR victims and for busting a number of syndicates behind the string of abductions during stint with the PNP that started upon his graduation from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
In a recent video on Lacson’s official “iPing” channel on Facebook and YouTube, Ruiz Saez-Co recounted his ordeal with KFR gangs as he thanked the former anti-kidnapping task force leader for his and his police group’s heroics, which saved many lives during his 30 years as a law enforcer.
The scion of a Filipino-Chinese family, Saez-Co recalled being ushered into Lacson’s own car as soon as he was rescued, yet the longtime public servant did not step out of the vehicle to meet the media or grandstand at the scene.
“Makatao siya sobra. Hindi siya padalos-dalos. Down-to-earth at walang media coverage. Nag-offer ng (reward) ang father ko but they declined. He said, they were just doing their job. Kung hindi dahil sa inyo, wala ako ngayon. Maraming salamat, Sir Ping!” [He is a true people person. He does not rush or make hasty decisions. He’s down-to-earth and had no media coverage (when they rescued me). My father offered (a reward) to them but they declined. He said they were just doing their job. If not for him, I would not be here today. Thank you, Sir Ping),” he said.
“Saan ka makakakita ng ganoong klaseng tao na siya talaga personally talagang ina-assist ka niya? Kidnap victim hindi lang naman ako eh, kahit siguro tanungin mo 'yung ibang ni-rescue niya. Ang gusto ko lang sabihin, what kind of a person si Sir Ping. 'Yung integrity niya pagdating sa trabaho niya. At saka 'yung tapat ba, talagang makatao siya, maka-Diyos,” (Where can you find that kind of a person who personally assists you? I’m not the only kidnap victim he saved, you can ask the others he rescued. I just want to say what kind of a person Sir Ping is. You can see his integrity at work. He is truthful, personable, and Godly.),” the former kidnaping victim said.
Many others have contacted Lacson’s campaign headquarters to inquire on how they could help push for his victory in May.
Lacson is now heading into the last six months of his third term in the Senate. He led the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force from 1998 to 2001, bringing KFR cases across the country to zero. But his most famous rescue occurred when he was still an officer in the Philippine Constabulary’s Metropolitan Command in 1981. Then a lieutenant-colonel, Lacson led a team that saved Robina Gokongwei, daughter of John Gokongwei Jr., from a KFR group.
Lacson, through his Twitter account in 2019, later said the billionaire taipan offered him and his team P400,000 as they had rescued Robina Gokongwei “just before the ransom payment, so no ransom was paid.” He politely declined the offer, so Gokongwei Sr. instead donated 10 patrol cars to the Philippine Constabulary – the forerunner of the present Philippine National Police.
Lacson would later become PNP chief in 1999, and enforced his personal “no-take policy” throughout the police force, which ended “kotong” (bribery) even among the rank and file during his three-year term. He then went on to win a Senate seat in 2001, becoming the guardian of the national budget through his scrutiny and impactful exposes.