Even when he was considered a fugitive from an administration bent on putting him behind bars, Partido Reporma presidential candidate Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson recently told an anecdote that showed he was still respected, even beloved, by the authorities that were mandated to capture him.

In an exclusive interview with noted newspaper columnist Wilson Lee Flores, Lacson said that in 2010, when he went into hiding to avoid the clutches of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, soldiers and policemen would recognize him and let him go on his way despite their standing orders.

Flores had asked in the Philippine Star Life interview: “FFCCCII (Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc.) president Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong told me he heard that when you were in hiding, whenever police or soldiers saw you, instead of arresting you, they’d salute you. Is this true?”

The longtime public servant replied: “After 2001, then President Arroyo had issued warrantless arrest against me when I was in hiding. At night, whenever I was traveling, several times I was stopped at checkpoints. The men in uniform would let me pass and tell me: ‘Mag-ingat kayo, Sir .’”

This indicated to Lacson that the uniformed men recognized and admired him from his time as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2001 and as a soldier and commander two decades before that under the defunct Philippine Constabulary, which was merged into the PNP.

But the three-term senator stressed to Flores that the nine years under the administration of Arroyo -- who wielded so much political power at the time as she saw Lacson as a rival who had to be subdued -- were hell for him.

‘’Maybe it’s because I didn’t take to heart too much about what I’ve been through. As you know, from 2001 since I left the PNP as chief until 2010, until President Arroyo left power. It’s nothing to me now, but those whole nine years, really nothing, my life was miserable,’’ Lacson said.

Asked by Flores how he managed to dodge Arroyo’s agents, who were tasked to bring him in for charges related to the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, and even Interpol, Lacson said: “I was able to hide well because I’m experienced in capturing fugitives, so I know how not to be caught.”

The experience of going into hiding for 15 months while his lawyers threshed out his legal issues also lent to Lacson’s determination to wipe out corruption in government and serve the country as its next Chief Executive -- something he has prepared for in over half a century of public service.

When Flores asked what he feared the most after surviving anti-crime and political battles as both a law enforcer and lawmaker, the Partido Reporma bet said: “At this point in my life, I no longer have any fear, not even death. I have become fatalistic; I entrust my fate to God.

It’s another reason why on his second presidential run, Lacson, running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” C. Sotto III, and Partido Reporma’s senatorial slate are united behind their rallying cries of “Aayusin ang Gobyerno, Aayusin ang Buhay ng mga Pilipino” (Fix the Government, Improve the Lives of Filipinos) and “Uubusin ang Magnanakaw” (Get Rid of the Thieves) for the 2022 elections.