Lacson: PNP Chief should explain chopper crash, activity in private island resort
Senator Panfilo ‘’Ping’’ M. Lacson on Tuesday, Feb. 22 refused to prejudge on the crash of a Philippine National Police (PNP)-owned helicopter sent to fetch PNP chief Dionardo Bernardo Carlos from a private island resort that claimed the life of a rookie policeman and injury to two police pilots yesterday morning.
‘’Thats one issue that chief PNP Carlos should explain dahil unfortunately nag crash yung chopper na dapat magsusundo sa kanya sa isang resort (.. the chopper unfortunately crashed on its way to fetch the PNP chief at an island resort),’’ Lacson, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, said when asked about the issue while campaigning in Laguna province today.
Lacson is seeking the presidency in the May 2022 national elections under the Partido Reporma banner.
A PNP statement released yesterday stated that the downed H125 Airbus helicopter was ‘’enroute (to) Northern Quezon on an administrative mission.’’
‘’Let’s not prejudge CPNP (Chief, PNP) Carlos di natin alam baka may official function, ngayon kung personal yun mukhang may problema so i hope the PNP can clarify that particular issue (we don’t know whether he was on official function...now if it is personal then he has problem so I hope he can clarify that particular issue),’’ Lacson said.
Queried that the downed helicopter is expensive, Lacson, chairman of the Senate National Defense and Security committee, stressed that he himself augmented the appropriations for equipment purchases at the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) budgets.
In purchasing equipment, Lacson said the purchasers should check the quality of the equipment they are buying because the lives of policemen are put in harm’s way.
Asked that guidelines on official trips should be strict, Lacson said there should be ‘’leadership by example.’’
‘ ’Assuming na personal yung lakad hindi siya dapat gumamit ng resources ng pnp, dapat yun private trasnportation ang ginamit niya but let us wait muna baka official function yung pinuntahan nya (Assuming that his trip was personal, he (Carlos) should have used a private transportation but let us wait whether his trip was official),’’ he added.
Lacson also said that a recent PNP arrest of a doctor was not related to political activities but was based on an unserved arrest warrant.