Panfilo Lacson

Lacson went on for another attempt for the Presidency of the Philippines during the 2022 Philippine presidential election, however he placed 5th in the race receiving 1.66% of the total vote. After the elections, Lacson said he would contribute to food security through an agri-aqua business.

Lacson also received from the Philippine Military Academy the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on February 19, 2022, in recognition of his "more than 50 years of “dedicated, exemplary and unblemished service to the country characterized by his faithful adherence to the virtues of Courage, Loyalty and Integrity."

Meanwhile, his Alma Mater, the Philippine Military Academy, conferred on him on February 19, 2022, the Lifetime Achievement Award citing his more than 50 years of “dedicated, exemplary and unblemished service to the country characterized by his faithful adherence to the virtues of Courage, Loyalty and Integrity.”

On February 8, 2022, during his proclamation rally in his hometown of Imus, Cavite, Lacson stressed his platform will be based on uplifting the lives of Filipinos by fixing the ills of government and getting rid of thieves, especially those in the government. Lacson said promoting transparency and stopping corruption will be his priority should he be elected. He said he would do this by enforcing discipline in the bureaucracy. Lacson said he will sign a waiver of his rights to the Bank Secrecy Law and encourage all government officials and employees to do the same. Lacson vowed to undertake a massive internal cleansing of the bureaucracy, going first after those with pending cases involving corruption and negligence.

On March 24, 2022, after Partido Reporma switched its endorsement to Leni Robredo, he resigned from the party and became an independent candidate.

On September 2, 2022, Lacson reiterated that the CPP-NPA-NDF, which was designated not only by the government of the Republic of the Philippines but also by the European Union, the United States of America and four other countries (Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand) — "is unequivocally an enemy of the state." He also scored suggestions to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act, saying this would be "a disrespect to our comrades-in-arms as well as the countless civilians who fell victims to the atrocities of this terrorist group that has lost its ideological principles over the years – they murder, they rob, they extort, they harass and intimidate and worse, indiscriminately."

After his Senate term ended at noon of June 30, 2022, Lacson said he would retire but continue to help in food security through an agri-aqua venture. He said this new chapter in his life involves seeking to boost Philippine agriculture by planting the protein-rich sorghum while engaging in small-scale feed mills, hatcheries and fish cage farming in Mindanao and Luzon. Through this, he said they hope to contribute to help make the Philippines food-sufficient while providing Filipino farmers with additional income outside the traditional rice planting season.

On September 8, 2021, Lacson and Tito Sotto launched their bid for president and vice president respectively, for the 2022 Philippine national election. Lacson and Sotto vowed to provide a stronger response to the pandemic, and vowed to restore public trust in the government. Lacson is the first to declare his bid for the presidency.

In late July 2021, Lacson became chairman of Partido Reporma, a political party founded by former Philippine defense secretary Renato de Villa. De Villa was Lacson's former superior in the Philippine Constabulary. This was shortly after Lacson and Sotto announced their plans to officially launch their candidacies for the 2022 Philippine presidential election. Sotto is chairman of the Nationalist People's Coalition. On October 6, 2021, Lacson and Sotto filed their certificates of candidacy for president and vice president respectively with the Comelec.

Lacson re-filed in the 18th Congress his bills on anti-terrorism (Senate Bill 21) and anti-wiretapping (Senate Bill 22). Of the two, the Anti-Terrorism bill became part of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 3, 2020. Other bills Lacson re-filed included:

Meanwhile, in the proposed 2020 budget, Lacson cited information from some House members regarding a plan to give each district P700 million, and each of 22 deputy Speakers P1.5 billion. The plan was eventually scrapped. Lacson's revelations prompted some House members to demand an apology from Lacson, but Lacson said there is nothing to apologize for, as he is guarding the budget. House members demanded that he named his sources, but Lacson refused, saying that he gets more information because he protects his sources. Lacson said that such complaints will not distract him from scrutinizing the 2020 budget bill.

He reiterated the importance of research and development in March 2020, amid government preparations to deal with the COVID-19 threat.

Lacson is one of the authors and the sponsor in the Senate of what is now Republic Act 11479, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 3, 2020. The law replaces the Human Security Act of 2007 (RA 9372), which he noted became a dead-letter law as some of its provisions – including a P500,000 daily penalty for the wrongful detention of a suspected terrorist – discouraged law enforcers from using it to charge suspected terrorists. In more than 10 years in effect, the 2007 law resulted in just one conviction and just one proscribed terrorist organization such as the Abu Sayyaf Group, he added.

The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 fills the gaps in the 2007 law by making punishable inchoate offenses – Section 6 penalizes planning, training, preparing and facilitating the commission of terrorism – as well as providing the mechanism allowing the freezing of assets used to finance terrorism, but does not cover protests, mass actions and other actions covered in the Bill of Rights in the 1987 Constitution.

Lacson sponsored in the Senate what is now the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (Republic Act No. 11479). In his sponsorship speech for the measure in October 2019, Lacson said the country needs "a legal framework for anti-terrorism that is clear, concise, balanced, and rational." He added the 2007 Human Security Act – which the 2020 anti-terror law replaced – had become a dead-letter law, with only one conviction in the more than 10 years it was in effect.

Also, Lacson pointed out the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 fills the gaps in the 2007 law by making punishable inchoate offenses – Section 6 penalizes planning, training, preparing and facilitating the commission of terrorism – as well as providing the mechanism allowing the freezing of assets used to finance terrorism.

Meanwhile, Lacson's advocacy against the pork barrel system and the corruption associated with him was cited by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila when it conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, on March 27, 2019.

Lacson's advocacy against the pork barrel system and the corruption associated with him was cited by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila when it conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, on March 27, 2019.

For the 2019 budget, Lacson raised questions about the post-ratification tweaks made by the House leadership to the spending bill, saying that this would violate the 1987 Constitution's Art. VI, Sec. 26, Paragraph 2: "Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto SHALL be allowed." He also noted P72.319 billion was slashed from the DPWH's MFO 1 and 2, which covers the Duterte administration's "Build Build Build" program. The projects under the MFO (Major Final Output) had already been planned and vetted.

Lacson had been pushing for the restoration of the death penalty, filing a bill seeking to "re-impose the death penalty on certain heinous crimes" in 2019. After he entered the presidential race in the upcoming 2022 presidential election, however, he reversed his decision on the issue after watching the film The Life of David Gale. As a presidential aspirant, Lacson vowed to retract the death penalty bill he filed before the Senate "if it's still there", arguing that "it is more important to save the life of someone innocent and convicted than to execute someone who is really convicted and proven to have committed a crime".

In a privilege speech on July 29, 2019, Lacson detailed how the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was spending beyond its means while its higher-ups "seem to turn a blind eye." He said this was due partly to the new reimbursement rates where PhilHealth "pays per case and not by actual expenses."

On August 28, 2019, Lacson filed Senate Bill 982, an "Act Prescribing the Order of Presidential Succession." The bill was also known as the "Designated Survivor" bill due to its similarity to the US and Korean shows that featured a designated official being kept in a safe, remote area to act as president should the President and his/her successors be killed or incapacitated in a terrorist attack or major calamity. Lacson confirmed he drew inspiration from the Netflix show.

On February 8, 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11200, which provides for a rank classification in the Philippine National Police. Lacson said the new law, where he is the principal author and sponsor, eliminates confusion on how PNP officers must be addressed, but more importantly, "allows for better coordination between the PNP and other law enforcement units in countering terrorism and other threats to national security." He added: "We cannot afford any delay in coordination in counter-terrorism operations and operations against other threats to national security."

Lacson filed Senate Bill 255 in July 2019, seeking to ease the requirements for municipalities to become cities. The measure lapsed into law in April 2022 as Republic Act 11683. The law amends Section 450 of RA 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, exempting a municipality from the land and population requirements if it generates at least P100 million for two consecutive years.

Shortly after assuming his Senate post in 2016, Lacson filed a bill providing free irrigation for farmers. The bill was consolidated in Senate Bill 1465, which along with House Bill 5670 were the basis for Republic Act 10969 – the Free Irrigation Service Act – which President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law on February 2, 2018.

Lacson chaired a Senate committee investigation into the fatal hazing of law student Horacio "Atio" Castillo III in September 2017. The probe found indications of a cover-up attempt via Facebook chat by Aegis Jvris fraternity, the organization Castillo sought to join. The probe resulted in Senate Bill 1662, which updated the existing Anti-Hazing Act of 1995 by imposing heavier penalties on hazing. The bill passed third and final reading in the Senate on February 12, 2018. It also passed the bicameral conference committee on February 28, 2018. The bill finally became a law after President Rodrigo Duterte signed it on June 29, 2018.

Lacson sponsored the bill seeking to establish a National ID system in the Philippines. In his sponsorship speech, Lacson said the National ID system seeks to harmonize, integrate and interconnect the "countless and redundant" government-issued ID cards. The proposed measure – Senate Bill 1738 – was approved in the Senate with a vote of 17–2 on March 19, 2018.

On August 6, 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the National ID measure into law, as Republic Act 11055. Lacson, the principal sponsor of the measure and a perennial author since 2001, expressed thanks to Duterte, as it was under his term that the national ID system saw the light of day.

As senator from 2017 to 2022, Lacson also amended to augment the budget of the PNP in the annual General Appropriations Act in the total amount of P8,069,970,000 - aside from authoring, sponsoring or co-authoring landmark legislations benefiting the PNP. "I can proudly say without mental reservation and fear of contradiction, being your former Chief, I have paid my dues to the men and women of this proud organization both active and retired," Lacson said in his remarks before the PNP on Aug. 15, 2022.

But Lacson went after abusive law enforcers, including some rogue cops who took advantage of the government's anti-drug war. At a Senate hearing on January 28, 2017, Lacson showed a video of police officers in civilian clothing, appearing to plant evidence in an anti-drug operation – to stress his call for internal cleansing in the PNP.

On August 23, 2017, Lacson delivered a privilege speech at the Senate, where he narrated details of corruption at the Bureau of Customs. This led to Faeldon being cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee after he refused to testify in the probe on illegal drugs.

On September 28, Lacson filed charges against Faeldon and several others before the Office of the Ombudsman over rice smuggling in March 2017.

While he initially planned to run for president again in 2016, he opted to run for the Senate in the 2016 elections. He won and ranked fourth in the said elections.

Lacson originally planned to run for president in the 2016 election. However, due to low ratings in most pre-election presidential surveys, he decided to run for a senate seat as an independent candidate in the 2016 Philippine general election. He was a guest candidate in the senatorial slates of presidential candidates Jejomar Binay (UNA) and Mar Roxas (LP). He was initially listed in Senator Grace Poe's senatorial lineup, but he was eventually replaced by Edu Manzano. He was also listed in Rodrigo Duterte's (PDP–Laban) senatorial slate. However, on February 15, 2016, the Duterte-Cayetano tandem dropped their entire senatorial lineup.

Lacson, who endorsed former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas' presidential campaign, garnered around 17 million votes in the 2016 elections, earning his way to a Senate seat by ranking fourth in terms of total votes.

In the 17th Congress, Lacson filed Senate Bill 41, the National Reference Act of 2016, which seeks to establish a National ID system that can help government law enforcers deter criminality and terrorism by facilitating the processes of apprehension and prosecution. The system seeks to address the problems of constant delays and inconveniences in availing of basic public services and social security benefits due to inefficient and unreliable means of identifying the beneficiaries. The bill was signed into law as RA 11055 in late 2018.

Lacson filed Senate Bill 48, which seeks to amend Republic Act 4200 to update the list of crimes where wiretapping may be deemed lawful under certain circumstances. The measure may give law enforcers more teeth against crimes like drugs, money-laundering and coups. On October 19, 2016, Lacson sponsored Senate Bill 1210, the proposed Expanded Anti-Wiretapping Act of 2016.

In the 18th Congress, Lacson filed Senate Bill 23, the Budget Reform for Village Empowerment Act of 2016. The bill seeks to give local government units an active role in nation building by providing them with funding for development projects.

In late 2016, Lacson discovered and moved to take out some P8.3 billion in "pork-like" insertions made by the House of Representatives. Lacson noted that House members were allowed to identify P80 million worth of projects before the submission of the 2017 National Expenditure Program to Congress for deliberations – the pork barrel system already declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This prompted the Senate to realign P8.3 billion in the proposed 2017 national budget to cover tuition of students in state colleges and universities.

Lacson pushed for bigger state investments in research and development, which he noted accounts for only 0.4 percent of the national budget from 2016 to 2020. To remedy this, he proposed increases in the R&D budget of the Department of Science and Technology, including a P250M increase for the Office of the Secretary; P50M increase for the Science for Change Program: Niche Center in the Regions for Research and Development (NICER); P100M for the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space); and P100M for the Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (CRADLE) program.

In a 2015 interview with the media, Mancao (still a fugitive) apologized to Lacson and Estrada for linking them in the Dacer–Corbito murders, admitting that he had no personal knowledge on the supposed involvement of the two. He also claimed that he was forced by the Arroyo administration to implicate their names.

In addition, Lacson said Doctors Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company owned by Secretary Duque's relatives, bids for government contracts with the DOH. The company was found in 2015 by the Food and Drug Administration of manufacturing for other companies, and was slapped a cease-and-desist order in June 2015. The FDA also ordered the recall of all drug products, but a tip that prompted an FDA inspection showed the firm was still operating. The FDA also found non-conformance with Good Manufacturing Practice.

In December 2014, Lacson tendered his irrevocable resignation as PARR which took effect in February 2015. He recommended the transition of his office's accomplishments and best practices to a permanent government agency. Lacson viewed the scheduled sunset review of Republic Act 10121, otherwise known as "Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010", as an opportune time to propose possible remedial measures that will help improve the effectiveness of the law, especially on the aspect of disaster rehabilitation and recovery.

After his first two terms in the Senate, Lacson was appointed by then-President Benigno Aquino III as Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery in December 2013. He led the management and rehabilitation efforts of the central provinces in the Philippines affected by Typhoon Yolanda.

Another film, "10,000 Hours" in 2013, was based on Lacson's flight in 2010. It starred Robin Padilla, who was elected senator in 2022.

On November 13, 2012, the Supreme Court in an en banc decision denied the government's motion to revive the case and affirmed the lower court's decision dismissing it.

Lacson authored Senate Bill No. 2783, which strengthened further the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001. His work is now part of Republic Act No. 10167, which was approved and signed into law on June 18, 2012.

Lacson authored an amendment to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act, which aims to provide more funds to the military. President Aquino signed the measure as Republic Act 10349 on December 11, 2012.

Lacson authored the law converting Imus, Cavite from a municipality into a city. The measure became Republic Act No. 10161 on May 8, 2012.

On February 3, 2011, the Court of Appeals withdrew the murder charges against the senator (SP-116057). Its decision cited Mancao as "not a credible and trustworthy witness". Mancao has since turned fugitive after escaping from the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation in May 2013.

Lacson returned to the country on March 26, 2011, a month after the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' ruling on the case.

On January 5, 2010, Lacson left the Philippines on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong, shortly before charges against him were filed in court. He became a fugitive for the next fifteen months. He had been spotted in Hong Kong and Rome but was never apprehended.

On February 5, 2010, Branch 18 of the Regional Trial Court in Manila issued an arrest warrant against him. On February 11, 2010, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Lacson.

In 2009, former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao II named Lacson as the mastermind of the murders of Salvador Dacer and Emmanuel Corbito. The allegations were made in an affidavit that Mancao signed on February 14, 2009. Mancao was allegedly present when Lacson gave the hit order to then Police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino sometime in October 2000.

In 2003, the High Tribunal ordered the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to try the case against Lacson and 33 other police officials. The trial court dismissed the criminal case, finding absence of probable cause. The special prosecuting team later moved for new trial before the High Tribunal to remand case to the trial court to present new evidence against Senator Lacson, inter alia. On May 2, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines resolved to take cognizance of the motion of the families of the slain Kuratong Baleleng members for revival of the murder case against police officials and Senator Panfilo Lacson.

In late 2006, Lacson said he might run as mayor of the city of Manila in the 2007 midterm elections. However, he rescinded that decision and instead ran for a second Senate term under the Genuine Opposition coalition. He won reelection in the 2007 senatorial elections senatorial elections, ranking third.

Lacson ran for President in the 2004 general election against the incumbent president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. His candidacy stirred disagreements with its party president, Senator Edgardo Angara. The COMELEC decided to follow what was done in the Quirino-Avelino case splitting the certificates of votes into half. Angara appealed the case before the Supreme Court and reversed the COMELEC decision. Lacson resigned from the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) upon hearing the news.

On March 11, 2003, Lacson delivered a speech entitled Living Without Pork, exposing the evils and temptations presented by the pork barrel system, and called for its total abolition. During deliberations on the national budget, he stated he would make sure his PDAF allocation reverted to the National Treasury – in the process saving the government some PhP2.4 billion during his first 12 years in the Senate.

During his tenure as the chief of the PNP, he was known for instituting various reforms within the organization. His high approval rating and high-profile anti-corruption campaigns paved the way for his Senate bid in 2001, where he won and placed tenth in the elections. He ran for the presidency in 2004, but lost though he continued to serve as senator until 2007. He won another six-year term in 2007.

Lacson took an optional retirement on February 16, 2001, to run for Senator.

In his 2001 affidavit, Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao implicated then President Joseph Estrada and then Director-General Panfilo Lacson in the Dacer–Corbito Murder Case. Both Estrada and Lacson denied their involvement.

Lacson was appointed by then President Joseph Estrada to head the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) and to serve as Philippine National Police Chief. Lacson's notable accomplishments were the reduction of corrupt policemen (Kotong Cops) and various organized crime syndicates engaged in kidnapping, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities. From April 30 to May 1, 2001, together with Juan Ponce Enrile, Gregorio Honasan, Miriam Defensor Santiago and Tito Sotto, he led the EDSA III protests against Gloria M. Arroyo. On May 1, 2001, the protesters stormed Malacañang Palace.

Lacson ran for senator in the 2001 elections under the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), which was affiliated with Estrada's Puwersa ng Masa coalition. He won a seat in the Senate, finishing in tenth place.

Under Lacson's leadership, the PNP earned a whopping 64% approval rating in July and October 2000, the highest ever recorded from the Filipino people. Lacson himself got an approval rating of 73% as Chief PNP in July 2000, thus regaining the PNP’s glory years by restoring public trust in the police force.

On November 24, 2000, publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito were abducted in Makati. In April 2001, their burnt corpses were found by a creek in Indang, Cavite. The Department of Justice filed double murder charges against Police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino and other police officers, including Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II and Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao – all members of Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by then Police Director-General Panfilo Lacson.

His success story in law enforcement inspired a movie titled "Ping Lacson: Super Cop" in 2000. He was portrayed by action star Rudy Fernandez.

Lacson worked at the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command (Metrocom)'s Intelligence and Security Group (MISG) from 1971 to 1986. Lacson, whose work involved mainly intelligence-gathering, rose through the ranks, becoming Lieutenant Colonel in the mid-1980s. After the 1986 People Power Revolution, he served at the PC-INP Anti-Carnapping Task Force as its commander from 1986 to 1988, as provincial commander of the Province of Isabela from 1988 to 1989, and as commander of the Cebu Metropolitan District Command (Metrodiscom) from 1989 to 1992. In 1991, he joined the then-newly created civilian Philippine National Police, or PNP, formed as a result of the merger of the military Philippine Constabulary and the civilian Integrated National Police or INP. (The INP was formed in 1975 as an integration of all local police forces in the country then under operational control of the PC.) Soon Lacson became Provincial Director of the Province of Laguna from February to July 1992. Afterwards, he was appointed Chief of Task Force Habagat at the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission from 1992 to 1995. From 1996 to April 1997, he was given the task of project officer of "Special Project Alpha." Lacson was appointed Chief of the PNP on November 18, 1999.

Lacson, who would later head the Philippine National Police from 1999 to 2001, founded the PNP Foundation in 2000, as a way for civic-minded people to give contributions for the benefit of the PNP as an institution.

In 1996, he earned a postgraduate degree of Master in Government Management from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

In 1995, members of a composite task group assigned to stop robberies in Metro Manila were linked to the killing of 11 members of Kuratong Baleleng in Quezon City. The PACC was a part of the composite task force.

His career as a police officer became the basis for two local action films: Task Force Habagat (1993) and Ping Lacson: Super Cop (2000).

In 1992, Lacson was recruited to the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission chaired by then Vice President Joseph Estrada. Lacson headed the PACC's Task Force Habagat, which would go on to solve several kidnap-for-ransom cases.

In 1992, he bared an attempt by local jueteng operators in Laguna to bribe him, initially to the tune of P1.2 million a month. He rejected the offer.

The Kuratong Baleleng of the 1990s was a criminal gang linked to a series of violent crimes that included kidnappings and bank robberies. In some of the robberies, the gang's members would gun down security guards and innocent bystanders.

While serving in the Philippine Constabulary's Metropolitan Command, Lacson's work involved mainly solving crimes, including kidnap-for-ransom incidents. In 1981, Lacson was a Lieutenant Colonel with the PC-Metrocom, when he led a team that rescued now-tycoon Robina Gokongwei-Pe, daughter of businessman John Gokongwei Jr., from a kidnap-for-ransom gang.

After his graduation from the PMA in 1971, Lacson was commissioned in the Philippine Constabulary (PC), then a major service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) responsible for maintaining peace and order and enforcement of laws in the country.

He finished grade school at the Bayan Luma Elementary School in 1960 and high school at the Imus Institute in 1964. While Lacson initially wanted to be an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation, he was invited by a classmate to take the entrance exams at the Philippine Military Academy. Lacson passed but the classmate who invited him did not.

Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈlakson]; born June 1, 1948) is a Filipino former politician and police general who served as a Senator for three terms: from 2001 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2022. He was the Director General of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2001, and was a candidate in the 2004 and 2022 Philippine presidential elections.

Panfilo Morena Lacson was born in Imus, Cavite on June 1, 1948. His late mother, Maxima, a market vendor, was a disciplinarian who instilled distinctions between right and wrong with her children.