Nearly 300 retired police and military generals, as well as former government officials, publicly expressed their unswerving faith, trust and loyalty to presidential candidate Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ M. Lacson in a signed manifesto of support amid his uphill battle in the May 9, 2022 national elections.
In a press conference held at the Ri-Rance 2 Corporate Center in Parañaque City, Friday, erstwhile Antipolo Representative Romeo Acop led a group of volunteers and retired servicemen in announcing their decision to stand with Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III.
Former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado attested to the positive leadership attributes of Lacson befitting our country’s next president. Mercado said he found Lacson to be the lone presidential candidate capable of leading the nation at a time of discord and uncertainty.
Also present in the said event were former Cabinet secretaries and past officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and their attached organizations—a number of whom worked with Lacson and served under different administrations.
Acop assumed the responsibility of being the overall campaign manager of Lacson with lawyer Kim Jacinto-Henares, the former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner, as the assistant campaign manager, according to spokesman and forum moderator Ashley ‘Ace’ Acedillo.
Acedillo said Acop is now the one in charge of running the presidential campaign of the three-term senator through the Lacson-Sotto Support Group (LSSG) and its organized units across 59 provinces nationwide. The decision was made after Lacson separated himself from Partido Reporma last week.
“We planned this after the breakaway of the Reporma party from supporting our presidential candidate, Ping Lacson.
‘’Gusto namin mag-meet kasi para ipaalam sa taumbayan na (si) Ping Lacson ay hindi po umatras sa laban... Kami na mga supporters niya, hindi rin kami umaatras sa laban (We wanted to meet to inform our countrymen that Ping Lacson is not backing out from the presidential race... And we, his supporters, are also not backing down from this fight),’’ cop said.
Jacinto-Henares also shut down pointless suggestions from some people in the opposing camps for Lacson to just withdraw his candidacy.
The former BIR chief said those who could not measure up to Lacson are probably the ones who should consider quitting, not Lacson, who is the best candidate.
“Why don’t those who don’t have the capability and who cannot do the job back out? But if somebody who is... I always say we have the best (candidate) in Ping Lacson. Why should somebody who is the best back out? The ones who should think about backing out are those who cannot measure up to his capability,” Jacinto-Henares stated.
Mercado urged Filipino voters to apply the same guiding principles most chief executive officers use when they are about to welcome people into their organizations: ‘hire on character, train on skills.’ With Lacson, training on skills is already a given, considering his over five decades in public service.
He spoke about the integrity of Lacson whom he worked with during his stint as Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND). Mercado also advised the general public not to underestimate Lacson and his committed team of supporters.
“To those who are underestimating this group, I am reminded by the words of Margaret Mead ‘never doubt a group of thinking and committed citizens to change the world,’” the former DND Secretary stated.
Retired Colonel Mariano Santiago, who served under the administrations of Presidents Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and Corazon Aquino, said he is supporting Lacson because he is already tired of the same political dynasties only taking their turns to rule the country.
He implored Filipinos to ‘wake up’ and elect better public servants. Santiago also challenged the line of reasoning of some people on why they are reluctant to vote for Lacson, which is highly influenced by his ranking in most mainstream pre-election surveys.
“Si Ping, second choice; si Ping, magaling ‘yan, pero sayang lang ang boto namin—masasayang.’ Bakit masasayang? (Ping was only the second choice; Ping is good but our votes might be wasted. Why would your votes be wasted?),” he added.
“Remember, people, the one vote of a very poor voter is the same as the one vote of the most powerful and richest man in this country. Tabla ang mahirap at mayaman. (The rich and poor are equal),” according to the former Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief.
In their signed manifesto, the LSSG officials and members asserted the competence, bravery and honesty of Lacson, which makes him the best candidate suited for the toughest job of leading the country. This is backed by his excellent track record in public service.
“Mayroon siyang code of honor na natutunan niya pa bilang kadete sa Philippine Military Academy, at kailanman ay hindi siya nasangkot sa ano mang katiwalian sa panahon niya sa Philippine National Police. Sa kanyang panunungkulan bilang Senador, hindi siya kailanman tumanggap ng tinatawag na ‘pork barrel [He (Lacson) has a ‘code of honor,’ which he learned since he was a cadet in the Philippine Military Academy, and he never got involved in any issue of corruption during his time with the Philippine National Police. As a sitting senator, he also did not receive what we call ‘pork barrel),’’ part of their manifesto read.
Former Interior and Communications Secretary Eliseo Rio, ex-Defense Undersecretary Honorio Azcueta, (Ret.) Major Gen. Carlos Tañega, (Ret.) B/Gen. Francisco Atayde, (Ret.) P/BGen. Edwin Corvera, and former PCG Commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan were present at the panel.
Over 200 retired officers also joined the gathering virtually via Zoom and signed the manifesto including Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, erstwhile National Bureau of Investigation director Magtanggol Gatdula, and former ACT-CIS party-list representative Samuel Pagdilao, Jr. to name a few.