The Lies, the Facts, and the Truth
About Ping Lacson

FACT: C/Supt. Jewel Canson, as chief of the PNP National Capital Region Office, was the commanding officer of the composite team. One of its primary targets was the notorious Kuratong Baleleng gang robbed banks and killed innocent victims along the way. It was he who directed the whole operation, and did not report to C/Supt. Lacson.

FACT: Task Force Habagat (under PACC), led by C/Supt. Lacson, was one of the four units that formed the composite team led by C/Supt. Canson. The other command units in the team were the CIS, National Capitol Region, Central Police District and the Traffic Management Command.

FACT: C/Supt. Lacson was initially charged as an "accessory" for signing the operations terminal report together with P/Sr. Supt. Fernando Zubia of the Traffic Management Group, C/Supt Romeo Acop of the CIS.

THE TRUTH:

C/Supt. Lacson did not lead the operations vs. Kuratong Baleleng.

1. While C/Supt. Canzon already owned full responsibility for the operations against KB during the senate investigation, C/Supt. Lacson, whose only direct involvement in the operations was to sign the terminal report together with the other heads of the units that composed the task force.

2. Lacson was in the barracks on the night of the shoot-out on May 18, 1995 and was not involved in the implementation of operational plans of the task force. Yet, the senator is being charged as principal under the same circumstances.

3. Contrary to the government prosecutors' claim, the case was

• investigated by the Ombudsman and dismissed on October 20, 1995;
• tried and dismissed by a Regional Trial Court, Br. 88 on March 29, 1999;
• the decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals on August 24, 2001;
• and affirmed by the Supreme Court on May 28, 2002, remanding simply the case back to the RTC to adduce if requirements have been complied with.

4. The April 1, 2003 Supreme Court decision (by 10-4 vote) ordering the revival of the case was a surprise and complete reversal of its May 28, 2002 (13-0 vote) directing the termination of the case. Note: The latest decision was penned and concurred with by President Arroyo's appointed justices.

5. The Arroyo administration wants the senator arraigned as a principal suspect so he will not be allowed to post bail. This will prevent him from physically campaigning for 2004 elections.

6. The task force members were initially given commendations as a reward for their successful operation against the dreaded gang members. These were promptly withdrawn when the families of the gang members protested and witnesses (who later admitted they did not actually see the shooting) claimed it was a "rub-out". Today, the team members continue to suffer even after they have been cleared of any wrongdoing simply because the government keeps on reviving the case, targeting Senator Lacson.

7. The Arroyo government is sending the wrong signal in its campaign on peace and order by continuously "re-investigating" the alleged "rub-out" of the notorious gang but does nothing about the plight of the KB's victims and the arrest of other wanted KB members who are now believed to be behind the series of bank robberies and assassinations today.

FACT: In his farewell address last May 5, 2003, Mr. Jeffrey Wendling of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (US-DEA) assigned to the US Embassy, personally cited the cooperation of then PAOCTF head and PNP Chief Panfilo Lacson in the war against foreign and domestic drug syndicates. He made the testimonial in the presence of Col. Victor Corpus, P/Dirs. Edgardo Aglipay, Reynaldo Velasco, Avelino Razon and NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco.

FACT: PNP Chief Ping Lacson's twin strategy approach - the market constriction and supply reduction - is now being adopted by the Arroyo government and also presently being duplicated in other countries with the endorsement of the US-DEA.

FACT: In an interview with Inq7 in 2001, Col. Corpus said he deliberately planned to link Senator Lacson with the Chinese Triad's drug trafficking activities, not through the judicial system but through the senate hearing.

FACT: The Hong Kong Police officially refuted Rosebud's claim pointing to the existence and shipment of 2,000 kilograms of shabu (worth $1.8 billion) originating from Hong Kong which she said were confiscated and kept by C/Supt Lacson and P/Insp. John Campos.

FACT: Rosebud never worked with C/Supt. Lacson's Task Force Habagat and PAOCTF at anytime in the past. Therefore, she was not privy to either Habagat's or PAOCTF's past police operations. She only participated in NarcGroup's operations, particularly in the execution of "Operation Athena" and "Cyclops" (under the supervision of C/Supt. Rey Acop).

FACT: Contrary to the claim of Rosebud, PAOCTF was never involved in the planning and execution of both NarcGroup's Operation "Athena" and "Cyclops". PNP records show that C/Supt. Rey Acop and C/Insp. John Campos, as members of NarcGroup, operated independently of PAOCTF.

FACT: Senator Lacson's father had always been a jeepney driver and was never employed as a family or company driver of the Remullas whom Rosebud accused of being involved in drug trafficking.

FACT: Contrary to Rosebud's claim, Senator Lacson did not help two Chinese drug lords, Chan Que and Sen Lao Phie who were arrested in 1999, to escape from prison. The two are in Occidental Mindoro still serving jail terms.

FACT: Last March 24, 2003, "Ador" Mawanay recanted his statements and admitted that all his declarations about Senator Lacson's alleged bank accounts were all fictitious. In his new affidavit, he identified First Gentleman Mike Arroyo as the mastermind in the attempt to frame up the senator.

FACT: The Ombudsman ruled that Senator Lacson was not guilty of wrong-doing as alleged by Rosebud in her complaint against Senator Lacson. Rosebud was eventually issued a court injunction for attempting to file the same complaint with the DOJ and the regional trial courts.

FACT: To boost the government's campaign against drug trafficking, Senator Lacson authored the Anti-Money Laundering Act. During the deliberation on the bill, Senator Lacson was the lone proponent of P500,000 threshold; the other senators proposed P2,000,000.

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson is not, and was never involved in narco-politics.

1. ISAFP Chief Col. Victor Corpus concocted the $5 billion narco-politics scenario in the country to justify the false allegations against Senator Lacson. He used the polluted testimonies of Rosebud and "Ador" Mawanay as his sole basis for his narco-politics scenario.

2. No concrete evidence was ever presented by Col. Corpus, NBI Director Wycoco, Rosebud and "Ador" Mawanay to prove their charges. (If they had filed a case in court, their failure to submit evidences would have led to a quick dismissal of the case. But Col. Corpus chose the senate as a forum because the objective was clearly to try Senator Lacson et al. by publicity).

3. NBI Director Wycoco has failed to produce the FBI documents which he said confirmed Senator Lacson's drug trafficking activities and dollar bank deposits.

4. Sen. Robert Barbers, the head of the investigating committee has refused to file perjury charges against "Ador" and Col. Corpus after "Ador's" recantation.

5. After Ador's retraction, Col. Corpus and Rosebud have not presented any other evidence to support their claim that Sen. Lacson maintained $700 million bank account overseas.

6. The scenarios painted by Col. Corpus, C/Supt. Berroya, Dir. Wycoco and Rosebud to establish the "narco link" between PAOCTF and NarcGroup did not reconcile with the service records of Senator Lacson and Supt. John Campos.

7. Rosebud was only familiar with the NarcGroup operations (not with PAOCTF) but she used her familiarity with the details of Operation `Athena' and `Cyclops' to make her claim credible in implicating P/Director Lacson. In effect, what she told the senate were half-truths and half-lies.

8. Col. Corpus and Rosebud have refused to talk to the media after Senator Lacson exposed their lie about two convicted Chinese drug traffickers whom he allegedly helped escape. The two convicts are serving jail sentence.

9. Rosebud NEVER worked with P/Dir. Lacson on any police operation.

FACT: The FBI officially denied that it had any knowledge of Senator Lacson's million dollar deposits in US banks except the three bank accounts of Mrs. Alice Lacson which Senator Lacson identified early on. The FBI said the bank accounts had insignificant deposits.

FACT: The Citibank regional office in Singapore confirmed on August 9, 2001 that the listed bank accounts (allegedly owned by Senator Lacson) submitted by "Ador" Mawanay did not exist.

FACT: C/Supt. Lacson was on a "floating status" and PAOCTF was still not organized at the time Rosebud claimed C/Supt. Lacson was seen dividing the profits from the sale of confiscated shabu among his men.

FACT: Per his last statement of assets and liabilities, Senator Lacson's assets total only P23,969,126. These represent value of the family's home in BF Homes, cars and income from modest investments in restaurant, amusement and real estate businesses of friends.

FACT: No kidnap victim in the country has ever claimed or hinted that Senator Lacson demanded or received any reward or ransom for a successful rescue in the past.

FACT: Senator Lacson gave Col. Corpus a special power of attorney giving him the right to access any of the bank accounts listed by "Ador" Mawanay and to withdraw the deposits in those accounts.

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson never had the millions of dollars that Corpus, Berroya, "Ador", Rosebud and Wycoco alleged during the senate investigation.

And not a single rescued kidnap victim has ever accused him of demanding and receiving ransom.

1. "Ador" Mawanay already admitted that he, (and Rosebud) invented all the bank account numbers where Senator Lacson was supposed to have deposited `$700 million" in the US.

2. Senator Lacson filed libel cases against Col. Corpus, Ramon Tulfo and the Philippine Daily Inquirer for the story on the alleged bank dollar accounts.

3. All the rescued kidnap victims were unanimous in praising Senator Lacson for his dedication to duty and refusal to accept financial rewards for himself and/or his men. Ms. Robina Gokongwei, a kidnap victim rescued by Lt. Col. Lacson in 1981, attests that he was offered a hefty cash reward for his feat but turned down the offer. In appreciation, the Gokongweis donated patrol cars to the PC-Metrocom instead.

4. Col. Corpus never reported back to the senate or to the media the result of his trip to the US armed with the special power of attorney.

5. No case was ever filed against Senator Lacson for his alleged KFR activities as claimed by Corpus, Berroya and Rosebud.

6. With its strict enforcement of the country's anti-money laundering law, the US government never issued a derogatory report about Senator Lacson's bank accounts in the past.

FACT: PNP Chief Lacson constantly raided jueteng and smuggling operations. Gov. Chavit Singson admitted this during the senate impeachment hearings. FACT: Only PNP chief Lacson succeeded in eliminating `kotong' among policemen and stopped their illegal practice of using carnapped vehicles for personal use.,p> FACT: Senator Lacson is known in PNP circles as the only PNP officer who refused jueteng payola throughout his police career. This is a fact that Mr. Tulfo grudgingly admitted in the past.

FACT: Senator Lacson is the only legislator who charged two of his own senate staff before the Ombudsman when they violated his "No-Take Policy" in the implementation of his "pork barrel projects".

FACT: Senator Lacson is the only senator who filed graft charges against a town mayor in Batangas, a major political supporter in the last senatorial elections, and several DPWH officials for overpricing costs of the infrastructure project funded by the senator's pork barrel allocation.

FACT: Senator Lacson waived his 2003 "pork barrel" funds after delivering a privilege speech last March 11, 2003, denouncing the rampant corruption in the implementation of projects funded by the pork barrel. No other senator has done this.

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson was never charged in court for corruption, estafa and bribery through out his entire government career.

1. In his crusade against corruption, he has adopted a personal credo - "What is right must be kept right, what is wrong must be set right."

2. He was the only senator who gave up his P200 million pork barrel to help bridge the budget deficit. He invited his colleagues to follow his lead, nobody responded.

3. He filed a bill in the Senate in 2002 asking for the exclusion of government officials from the coverage of the Bank Deposit Law. The bill, aimed at making transparency in public service a reality, is still pending.

4. He continues to create enemies for refusing to be part of any scheme to defraud the government. Recently, he was haled to a US court for refusing to make the government pay the P1.8 million commission due Ms. Blanquita Pelaez for the sale of handcuffs because he discovered that the terms of the contract entered into by his predecessors were grossly disadvantageous to the government. Senator Lacson won the case.

5. He recently exposed First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo for his suspected anti-money laundering activities as "Jose Pidal" and for a suspected series of tax evasion.

6. Mr. Ramon Tulfo and other media personalities have not stopped harassing Senator Lacson in their columns and radio/TV programs because the senator dared to stop the monthly PNP media payola.

FACT: The police service record of P/Supt. Campos showed that he was never assigned with PAOCTF. It was P/Supt Campos who disputed Rosebud's allegations about Senator Lacson during the senate hearings. He denied Rosebud's account of "Operation Athena II" (allegedly involving Senator Lacson) since it was non-existent.

FACT: P/Insp. Campos was attending the Public Safety Officers' Senior Executive Course in July 1998 after completing his Master in Public Safety Administration during the period that Rosebud claimed he was seen dividing the loot with C/Supt. Lacson.

FACT: FACT: The only time Sr./Supt. Lacson and P/Insp. Campos and actively collaborated was when they stood as principal witnesses against Sr. Supt. Reynaldo Berroya in the kidnapping of suspected Taiwanese drug lord Jack Chow. For their testimonies, Mr. Berroya was sent to jail.

FACT: P/Supt. Campos' friends and relatives denied that he ever contemplated reconciling with Rosebud. Rosebud was banned by the Campos' family during the funeral services for him. It was Senator Lacson who was welcomed.

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson did not and could not have killed P/ Supt. John Campos.

1. P/Supt. Campos was assassinated at 1:30 am in the morning. Rosebud presented herself to the media an hour later to announce the killing, and quickly pointed to Senator Lacson as the mastermind. Since dead men tell no tales, it was convenient for Rosebud and C/Supt. Berroya to claim that Mr. Campos was ready to turn against Mr. Lacson, making it a motive for the senator to have him killed.

2. Rosebud not only lied but humiliated Mr. Campos and maligned his honor during the senate hearings, why would he reconcile with Rosebud?

3. The senator already filed a libel case against Rosebud for her false accusations.

4. The family of Mr. Campos refuses to believe Rosebud's claim that Senator Lacson was behind the killing.

FACT: Mr. Dacer was a public relations practitioner, not a journalist, known to cater principally to politicians and government officials. He had been involved in political campaigns and helped lobby for government contracts.

FACT: The whereabouts of Dacer and his driver could not be traced or located since their abduction during the incumbency of Senator Lacson as Chief-PNP. The bodies and the vehicle, however, surfaced in an open field in Cavite after PNP chief Lacson had resigned. Then, this was followed by the release of P/Supt. Glen Dumlao's alleged "confession".

FACT: P/Supt. Dumlao was made to sign a "confession" naming Sr. Supt. Michael Ray Aquino and Supt. Cesar Mancao, as the `masterminds' behind the deaths of Mr. Dacer and his driver. However, Mr. Dumlao is now missing while under the custody of the government.

FACT: Messers. Aquino and Mancao left the country ostensibly for security reasons. Their fears were founded when P/Sr. Supt. John Campos was subsequently assassinated.

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson was never named or tagged by anyone to be behind the deaths of Mr. Dacer and Mr. Corbito except in innuendoes.

1. President Erap was never reported to have had serious differences with Mr. Dacer at anytime in the past.

2. PNP chief Lacson never had any business dealings with Mr. Dacer. He never employed a publicist throughout his career.

3. To date, no formal charges have been filed against Messers. Aquino and Mancao.

4. While Messers. Aquino and Mancao are both considered "fugitives" by NBI Director Wycoco, he has determined that the US government has legitimized their stay in the US. Is it possible that the US government knows something that the NBI refuses to see?

5. Colleagues who knew Mr. Dacer believe his disappearance may have had to do with a disgruntled client who may have felt betrayed or may have an axe to grind against Mr. Dacer.

FACT: Senator Lacson is a minority investor in the corporation. He was invited to invest in the project (with friends) after he resigned his position as PNP Chief.

FACT: The construction of the house was completed with a P15 million loan by the company with Banco de Oro.

FACT: Senator Lacson and his family owned and lived in BF Homes in Paranaque since 1982.

FACT: The FBI denied a claim by Col. Corpus and NBI Dir. Wycoco that the senator owns mansions in the USA.

THE TRUTH:

The Lacson family temporarily resides in Mega Star Estate's house project in Alabang today. He does not own a single mansion in the US.

1. The family has been asked by the corporation to temporarily live in the empty house in order to help maintain its livable condition until it is finally sold. The eldest son now maintains the family house in Paranaque.

2. The house remains mortgaged and is still for sale. Ever since the controversy, there has been no interested buyer prompting the corporation to ask one of its directors to reside in it. The "For Sale" sign is posted on the house today.
3. The photos of "mansions" in California supposedly owned by Senator Lacson, were first peddled to the local media by Col. Corpus without any proof of ownership by the senator. A quick check with www.courthousedirect.com revealed that these "mansions" were owned by different persons.

4. Blanquita Pelaez, convicted of estafa in March 2003, used the same discredited information made public by Col. Corpus in maligning Senator Lacson.

5. The only time Senator Lacson acquired a real property in the US was when he bought a two-bedroom condominium unit in 1996 in Laguna Seca Loop, Chula Vista, Southern California for his family when they started to receive death threats owing to the `Kuratong Baleleng' issue. The unit was eventually sold that same year when the family returned to Manila.

FACT: Candidate Lacson's campaign poster materials and handbills though numerous and attractive, were not identical. These were obviously funded and produced separately by various sources, not by Mr. Lacson's campaign staff.

FACT: By Chavit Singson's and Atong Ang's accounts, PNP chief Lacson constantly raided jueteng and masiao.

FACT: PNP chief Lacson's unrelenting campaign versus drug trafficking resulted in the confiscation of drug shipments and the arrests of notorious alien pushers and traffickers. Many of these drug busts done were in collaboration with counterparts in Asia and USA.

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson's political activities were supported by grateful families, not by drug lords or jueteng financiers.

1. Senator Lacson's detractors tried initially to block his first senatorial election by discrediting his campaign based on innuendoes and rumors, mainly that he had millions in his bank accounts sourced from jueteng and drug trafficking.

2. During his incumbency as PNP chief, Mr. Lacson was never rumored or reported to have had dealings with druglords or jueteng lords.

3. Senator Lacson was known to be one of the very few police officers who rejected jueteng payola consistently throughout his police career.

4. Jueteng and drug lords were seriously affected by PNP Chief Lacson's campaign against them, they couldn't possibly want him to be elected to any government post that could further jeopardize their illegal activities.

• that her brothers "Reggie and Robert died when their car figured in a collision with a Metro Manila Transit bus in Alabang on April 21,1978.the family even filed a case against the bus company for damages."

• "Reginald was never detained at MISG."

• " .she (Alice) had long been separated from my brother when she filed a petition for the annulment of their marriage."

  (Note: For verification, check Inq7.net archive, search for "Katherine Hill")

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson did not kill Reginald Hill.

1. Katherine's letter speaks for itself. Senator Lacson was introduced to Alice as a blind date, long after her marriage with Reginald was annulled.

2. As Katherine attested, the senator could not have possibly met and beat up Reginald inside Camp Crame since he was never detained there.

3. The claim that Senator Lacson plotted the death of Reginald Hill was concocted by Kit Mateo.

4. The ugly rumor first appeared in Ramon Tulfo's column after D/Gen Lacson terminated his and others' monthly retainers from the PNP.

FACT: Plebe Cadets Ping Lacson and Gringo Honasan, like hundreds of other PMA cadets before and after them, were ordered to play the roles at one or another.

FACT: C/Supt. Reynaldo Berroya used a picture taken during the "Frolics Night" program as his proof for his malicious labeling.

FACT: Senator Lacson is married to Alice de Perio, a former commercial model who hails from Pangasinan, with whom he has 3 sons.

THE TRUTH:

Senator Lacson is not gay.

1. C/Supt. Berroya's malicious allegation is an indictment of the revered tradition of PMA. By insisting that the senator is gay for having been made to participate in a PMA social event, Berroya insults hundreds more of PMAyers who were ordered to participate in past `Frolics'.
2. C/Supt. Berroya used the "gay" label as one of his tacks to get back at Senator Lacson who was a principal witness against him in the Jack chow kidnapping case that led to his 4 years imprisonment.

FACT: Mr. Mateo was arrested, convicted and jailed with Sr. Supt. Reynaldo Berroya for the kidnapping of Jack Chow.

FACT: Mr. Mateo was diagnosed with the cancer of the colon while in prison and had financial difficulty coping with his treatment.

FACT: Based on his testimony to Channel 7's Sandra Aguinaldo last October 23, 2000, he was approached by Mr. Ambet Antonio while in prison and offered to seek Kit's release from prison and help him with his treatment on condition that he would implicate PAOCTF chief Supt. Lacson in several crimes to embarrass President Erap.

FACT: Believing the offers made, Kit concocted crime scenes, i.e., pushing a mother and child out of a helicopter, etc. that directly implicated C/Supt. Lacson. His false declaration statement while in his sick bed was recorded by ABS-CBN's Ana Marie Puderanan. As an insurance against possible double-cross, however, Kit and his wife Vinia, made Ms. Puruganan sign an agreement that the interview will not be shown at anytime without their explicit approval.

FACT: Four weeks after making the false testimony, the promised release from prison and financial help never came. This prompted Kit to arrange for an immediate retraction of his false testimony. He also asked for another TV reporter to record his retraction.

FACT: ON October 21, 2000, he signed an affidavit confessing the truth about his false testimony. He was subsequently interviewed by Channel 7's Miss Sandra Aguinaldo. In his taped interview, Mr. Mateo asked for C/Supt. Lacson's forgiveness.

FACT: Mr. Mateo was pardoned by President Estrada in 2001 for humanitarian reasons. He died two months later.

FACT: Mr. Tulfo vented his anger on Senator Lacson who exposed him as a "certified extortionist" in his "Incredible Hulk" privilege speech last August 18, 2003. He promised his readers that "he would get even."

FACT: Senator Lacson has filed a libel case against Mr. Tulfo and RPN-9 officials for airing the false testimony of Mr. Mateo even knowing fully well that the latter had recanted.

THE TRUTH:

Ping Lacson never ordered Kit Mateo to execute or kill anyone. In his taped retraction, Mateo confessed it was all a fabrication.

1. The enemies of President Estrada, namely, Mr. Ambet Antonio and jailed C/Supt. Berroya, exploited and tricked Kit Mateo by offering huge sums of money at a time when he was desperate for help.

2. Mrs. Vinia Mateo said Kit felt guilty about what he had done the day after he implicated C/Supt. Lacson but felt helpless to do anything about it in the face of what was promised him.

3. Contrary to the claim of Mr. Ramon Tulfo, Mrs. Mateo denied that they were offered huge sums of money by C/Supt. Lacson or anyone to make the retraction. It was all a matter of conscience for her husband.

4. Mr. Tulfo acted maliciously when he directed the reenactment of the alleged crimes described in the false testimony and aired the same in his TV program even as he knew there was a recantation by Mr. Mateo and a letter of clarification by the sister of Reginald Hill.

5. Excerpts of Kit Mateo's interview with Channel 7.
   • "Yung mga statements na naibigay ko kay Anna Marie Puderanan na mga kasinungaligngan, na pawang mga imbento ko lamang po. Para may masabi ako tungkol sa ikasasama ni Gen. Lacson. Lahat po iyon ay pinabubulaanan ko dahil wala pong katotohanan at pawing imbento ko lamang po.

   • ".na napag-isip isip ko po na walang nangyari sa akin, eto ngayon binabagabag ako ng konsensya ko ngayon, hindi naman po tama na kung ang isang tao na napakabuti po dahil sa kagustuhan ko na lumaya di po maatim ng konsensya ko na maipit si General na napunta siya sa hindi magandang kalagayan dahil lamang po sa mga kasingungalingan ko. Pinagsisisihan ko po ng lubos kung bakit ko po nagawa iyon."

   • "Ako po ay basta napagsisihan ko yung nagawa kong paninira kay Gen. Lacson sana po ay maunawaan ni General na kaya ko po nagawa yon, malaking kasalanan po pinagsisihan ko pagkat itong mga ginawa kong pagkakasala ay hinihingi ko po ng kapatawaran, sakaling dumating po ang oras ko ay matanggap na ako sa langit."