When former Sen. Panfilo Lacson hinted at the possibility of running for president (again!), my normally placid life began to go through a period of turbulence and disquiet. Let me tell you why.
My deepest worry about Lacson as a possible successor of President Benigno Aquino III is his lack of transparency, especially about his past. He was with the Metropolitan Command Intelligence and Security Group (1971-1986) during the unlamented and murderous martial law years. To me, he’s like a slightly tinted glass through which I could only see things darkly. And unless he becomes totally transparent about himself, I will not vote for him, More than that, I will convince people not to give him the chance to be our next president.
Specifically, here are my doubts about him. First, I believe to this day that he has blood on his hands—from the “Kuratong Baleleng” rubout case (1995)—despite the fact that the Supreme Court had acquitted him of that dastardly crime. Lacson should banish the thought that I was born only yesterday to believe that our courts cannot be tempted with “30 pieces of silver.” Furthermore, I believe that our courts are not always the final depository of the truth about legal cases.
Second, on the murder of PR practitioner Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito on Feb. 16, 2010, it is hard to believe that former police official Cesar Mancao retracted his testimony against Lacson without some kababalaghan (mysterious arrangements). I still distinctly remember the statement of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima after Lacson fled the country: “Flight is a sign of guilt.” Why did Lacson hide if he was not guilty?
Third is Lacson’s resignation as the czar of reconstruction and rehabilitation programs for the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Nov. 8, 2013. He never explained fully the reasons behind his resignation. He simply “vanished,” and so suddenly. Why? As far as I am concerned, his resignation was not really a resignation but an act of desertion—of people in their direst hour of need.
Now comes his plan to ask me, as a Filipino citizen, to entrust him with the most difficult and challenging job any person can have in this world. I am afraid I can’t honor his request unless he comes clean, shed of his mysterious and dreadful past. He may not have used his pork barrel funds ever, but there are just too many very deeply disturbing mysteries that cloak his life.
—CARLOS D. ISLES, carlos_isles@yahoo.com