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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Senator, arch nemesis to vie for Manila mayoralty post
MANILA -- After receiving what he described as a sign from God, Senator Panfilo Lacson announced Monday he will run for mayor of Manila in the May 2007 elections.
Lacson made the announcement at a media forum after conferring with a "man of the cloth" who advised him to "go for it."
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"When it becomes extremely difficult to arrive at a decision because of diverse choices, because you're simply right in the middle of it, I turn to prayer. I asked for a sign and take it as God's will," he said.
Just after Lacson made the announcement, former police anti-narcotics agent Mary Ong alias Rosebud, who had accused Lacson of involvement in kidnapping and peddling of illegal drugs, said she is also running for Manila mayor against the opposition lawmaker.
In announcing her candidacy at the Trellis restaurant in Camp Aguinaldo, Ong also revived the charges against Lacson.
Ong said she cannot allow Lacson, a stalwart of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, to take the Manila mayoralty post, admitting that her candidacy was motivated by Lacson's announcement that he was running for the post.
A survey by the Philippine Social Research Center (PSRC) from October 12 to 18 showed Lacson getting 27 percent of potential votes from a possible field of eight candidates.
Following him were Senator Alfredo Lim with 19 percent; former congressman Mark Jimenez with 16 percent; Vice Mayor Danilo Lacuna with eight percent; Representative Joey Hizon (seven percent); Ali Atienza (seven percent); former first lady Imelda Marcos (seven percent); and Representative Rudy Bacani (four percent).
Under a scenario of only four candidates, Lacson got 37 percent followed by Lim (25 percent); Lacuna (18 percent); and Atienza (10 percent). With a three-candidate scenario, Lacson got 48 percent followed by Lim (29 percent) and Lacuna (23 percent).
Asked what he can offer the city, Lacson said he can offer a program based on "Health, Order, Progress, Education" (Hope), and change the culture of local politics -- from the existing dole-out culture to people empowerment.
Lacson also said he would welcome any opponent, including Jimenez and Ong, so long as they are qualified. "This is a democracy. Maski sino, maski 20-30 kaming tatakbo, it's always the best man who will come out the winner (Even if there are 20 or 30 who will run, it's always the best man who'll come out the winner)," he said.
He denied speculations that his decision stemmed from his exclusion from the list of opposition senatorial candidates to be supported by former President Joseph Estrada. Besides, Lacson added, even if Estrada would not support his reelection bid, he would run as an independent candidate.
"Ito maluwag na maluwag sa kalooban ko. Whatever happens I won't blame myself. I won't blame anybody," he said.
Lacson said one of the reasons he decided to run for mayor was because he was disappointed with the "tyranny of numbers" in the Senate, and the "highly tainted" pork-barrel system.
He also said he is now working out his ticket though he has not finalized the lineup as of now. He added he will run as an independent for the moment.
Lacson said he believes he can beat "the obstacles in his path" because of the "very clear sign" he got. "I don't think you can be stopped anymore from pursuing what you want," he said.
When asked who will likely be his closest opponent, he said it would be Senator Alfredo Lim. He also denied that he discussed his mayoralty plans with Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita during a meeting at the Manila Hotel last week.
Senator Lim also expressed his intention to go on with his plan to seek the mayoralty post in Manila next year notwithstanding Lacson's announcement.
Lim welcomed Lacson's move saying that with the ever increasing number of candidates running for Manila mayor in the 2007 elections, Manilans now have a wider range of choices on who they would want to lead Manila for the next three years.
Each of those who will be joining the mayoralty race, Lim added, has his own qualities, capacity, and track record.
Lim, who once served as Manila mayor, said his choice for running mate would be based on character.
At Camp Aguinaldo, Ong said: "Ping Lacson made me decide to run. I have been waiting for all these five years. What I have been waiting for all this time is to have a face off with Ping Lacson, this is the right time."
Ong started accusing Lacson of involvement in kidnapping-for-ransom and in the illegal drugs trade in 2001. Since then, she has been under the protective custody of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) in Camp Aguinaldo.
Ong has appeared before a Senate inquiry on Lacson's alleged money-laundering activities. However, the Senate committee that pursued the investigation has not come up with a resolution on the inquiry up to now.
"I cannot allow Ping Lacson to win. I can work with anyone except those who are linked to drug personalities and those who are linked to kidnapping for ransom activities," said Ong, taking a dig against Lacson.
However, not a single case had been filed against Lacson, the PNP chief during the Estrada administration, for kidnapping or a drug offense before any court. Lacson and Ong worked together when Lacson was still head of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (Paoctf).
Lacson was among the respondents in the alleged rubout of 11 members of the Kuratong Baleleng kidnapping and robbery group along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City in 1995. Lacson was then affiliated with the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (Pacc), which then Vice President Joseph Estrada headed.
Ong said her candidacy would be independent and denied that Malacañang had something to do with her decision to run for Manila mayor. "I will still run against Ping Lacson whether or not the administration will support me," Ong said.
Ong, whose Chinese father is married to a Filipina, contradicted insinuations by Lacson that he has the support of the Filipino-Chinese community. On the contrary, Ong claimed that majority of the Filipino-Chinese community is against Lacson.
"That's not true. The silent majority of the Chinese (community) will not support Lacson," said Ong, stressing she would get the Chinese-Filipinos' support. "Definitely, because blood is thicker than water. I have Chinese blood, Lacson does not have," she added.
Asked why she is confident of winning against Lacson when she does not have the resources, Ong said: "Because Manileños are not stupid. I'm sure that they will give me a chance." She said her platform would be on anti-illegal drugs and anti-kidnapping.
"Ping Lacson missed out on anti-illegal drugs and anti-kidnapping platform. These are the two charges where I testified against him for his drug and kidnapping activities," she said.
Ong also chided Lacson for allegedly likening himself to former mayor Arsenio Lacson. "They probably come from the same family but I'm telling you that he is a different Lacson. The former Mayor Lacson, he really led Manila to become a very safe place to stay, we were satisfied with his mayoralty."
"But this Lacson that is running in 2007, he is not Lacson, he is lason (poison)," she added.
Ong said she is eligible to run for Manila mayor, claiming she has been a resident of the city for the past 45 years, excluding her five-year stay at the Isafp compound. She said she last voted in the 2004 elections.
Ong, who brought her 1977 application to vote and her voter's identification card, said she would file her candidacy before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the same day when Lacson files his candidacy.
She said she might opt to leave the protective custody of Isafp when she files her candidacy, adding she is not allowed to receive visitors while at the Isafp. "I've lived a very isolated life, no visitors allowed so I have to probably move out so I can speak with my supporters," she said.
If the Witness Protection Program prohibits her to run, Ong said she might also quit the program. "If there is a hindrance, I can apply to be out of the program," she said. (CPB/VR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (November 14, 2006 issue)
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