Lacson vows to prioritize peace and order problems in areas like Abra

Presidential candidate and Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday vowed to give priority to the peace and order problems in areas in the country like Abra.

Lacson made the remark as he lamented that Abra is one of the areas where there is bloodshed especially during election period.

"[What I will do in Abra is] of course 'yung ginawa ko noong chief PNP ako. Pay special attention not only to Abra but in areas na traditionally, historically, magulo not only [during the] election period. Talaga namang mayroong ganoon e nasa statistics naman yon e," Lacson said in an ambush interview before his town hall meeting in Bangued, Abra.

(What I will do in Abra is, of course, what I did during my stint as the chief of the Philippine National Police. Pay special attention not only to Abra but in areas that are traditionally and historically in disarray not only during the election period. There are areas that are disorderly and that can be shown by the statistics.)

"Lagi dapat data driven. Driven by data ang action taken ng sinumang namumuno. So, dapat unahin ang mga lugar na ganon na bigyan ng priority. Ang sabi ko nga everything starts with the government and ends with the government so kailangan fix the government first," he added.

(The actions taken by any leader should always be driven by data. So we should prioritize those areas and like what I always say, everything starts with the government and ends with the government. So we need to fix the government first.)

The former Philippine National Police chief recalled the 2013 elections when he requested former police official Benjamin Magalong to be designated as the regional director of the Cordillera Adminsitrative Region (CAR).

"Historically, talagang ang Abra laging bloody ang election except during one election when I requested the PNP, I remember in 2013, I requested to assign General Magalong then as CAR Regional Director," he said.

"That was the first and only time walang bloodshed. Sayang 'yan sana ang ginawang template ng PNP pagdating sa peace and order during elections. Ito ang Abra ang role model noon of all places, dapat sana template," he noted.

The lawmaker visited Bangued, Abra on Tuesday to hold the usual town hall meeting with various sector as part of his Eleksyon 2022 campaign.

He was supposed to visit Vigan, Ilocos Sur and meet with Governor Ryan Singson in the morning but he decided to call it off, citing tight schedule.

"I requested to call it off kasi gipit sa oras considering that the Bersamins who are Reporma candidates in Abra who decided to stick with me, are hosting an early lunch, followed by a courtesy call to the bishop to be capped by a town hall meeting in Bangued," Lacson told GMA News Online in a Viber message.

Lacson's initial schedule also included a town hall meeting in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte--the province of presidential frontrunner Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., but the organizers announced its cancellation.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, on the other hand, attended an event organized by his party, the Nationalist People's Coalition on Tuesday. — RSJ, GMA News