Partido Reporma standard-bearer Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson has said nothing is impossible for a leader who knows how to practice what he preaches, especially when it comes to the application of single standard policies aimed at eradicating the ‘endemic’ culture of corruption in government.

Addressing voters from Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province, Lacson said he already found the best antidote to deliver the country from inept, corrupt and undisciplined public officials and employees, and that is by reviving his anti-graft policies when he led the Philippine National Police (PNP).

‘’The policemen stopped their ‘kotong’ (bribe-seeking) activities. Why? Because they had no idea if the people they were trying to extort would arrest them. Now, we will scale that up to the national government—national government bureaucracy,’’ the presidential aspirant told a town hall meeting held on Tuesday (March 15).

Planting spies or undercover agents among policemen to catch scalawags in their ranks became one of Lacson’s claims to fame when he served as Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief from 1999 to 2001.

It was so effective that he managed to turn the organization around and restore public trust in it in just four months, he pointed out.

“I-re-replicate lang natin ‘yun nang sa ganoon mag-alangan, laging isipin ng mga taong gobyerno na pwedeng ang kanilang ka-transaction ay planted pala at sila’y huhulihin (We will just replicate that (policy) so that people in government would hesitate, they would think that maybe the person they are making transactions with might be planted and would apprehend them). Balang araw, alam niyo, ‘yung kulturang ‘yan mawawala po ‘yan at titino ‘yung ating government bureaucracy (One day, you know, that culture (of corruption) will end and our government bureaucracy will be good),’’ he said.

The presidential aspirant said he is convinced he could duplicate his past successes and rid the country of corruption if the electorate gives him the chance to lead the country. He noted that this goal is ‘not easier said than done’ but is doable because of ‘leadership by example.’

“Tumino ‘yung pulis sa ilalim ng aking pamumuno... Hindi po ganoon kahirap gawin... Kaya po naming gawin ‘yan kasi kami alam namin o kaya namin mag-set ng good example sa aming pamumuno (The police became good under my leadership... It’s not that difficult to achieve... We can do it because we know or we are able to set a good example under our leadership,’’ according to Lacson, who is running for president in tandem with Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ C. Sotto III.

Lacson and Sotto are campaigning to reinstate a nation ruled by seasoned public servants and statesmen in positions of power.

They visited Tuguegarao City on the second leg of their campaign activities in the Cagayan Valley region.

There are estimated 766,018 registered voters in Cagayan province, according to official data from the Commission on Elections, and the highly urbanized City of Tuguegarao hosts over 90,000 of them. Cagayan Valley has over two million registered voters in total per national and local media reports.