Lacson�s appointment as PNP chief:
Sharpening the fascist fangs of the US-Estrada regime

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

As soon as he assumed his post, Lacson immediately bared his fascist fangs. In accordance with his boss Estrada�s orders, he instantly strengthened the Philippine National Police (PNP) as a fascist instrument against the people and the revolutionary movement. He ordered the police to intensify counterrevolutionary campaigns, once again extolled and justified salvaging or summary executions in the style of the Kuratong- Baleleng rubout and pushed for repressive policies such as the national ID system.

The ruling class applauded Lacson�s appointment, confident as they are that he would defend their interests. Nevertheless, because of the intensity of the political crisis, the appointment of Lacson will inevitably cause further schisms within the ranks of the PNP as well as elsewhere in the ruling class.

Bloody record

Gen. Panfilo Lacson, 51, belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class of �71 whose members include military and police officials trained under martial law and who embraced, defended and supported the fascist Marcos dictatorship. After serving the Philippine Constabulary (PC) since 1971, Lacson was assigned to the fascist Metrocom. It was here where he was promoted�from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel. He also spent five years with the Military Intelligence and Security Group (MISG), the main intelligence agency during martial law. Under the MISG, Lacson was directly responsible for the torture of members of the revolutionary movement captured by the dictatorship.

From the Metrocom, he was assigned as provincial commander of Isabela where he collaborated with giant illegal logging concessionaires.

Lacson brazenly boasts that he idolized the late Col. Rolando Abadilla, a notorious human rights violator and one of the most hated henchmen of martial law. Hence, when he was deployed to Cebu after his stint in Isabela, Lacson unleashed his fascist terror in the manner of his idol Abadilla. He was also assigned commander of the PC-INP and chief of the Metrodiscom in Cebu from 1987- 90. It was here that Lacson gained further notoriety as an advocate of salvaging, widescale militarization, torture and the buildup and proliferation of anti-communist, fanatic vigilante groups.

Lacson was also deployed to Laguna in January 1992. That same year, he was assigned commander of Task Force Habagat where he developed stronger ties with Estrada and where their collaboration in criminal syndicate activities deepened. When Estrada became president, Lacson headed the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) before he became the PNP chief.

Publicity stunts and fascist schemes Lacson�s publicity stunt of �ousting criminal elements from the PNP� and �furthering� the campaign against criminality is pure balderdash. To prove his �determination� to wipe out criminality, Lacson made a very big deal out of the resolution of a small kidnapping case, the arrest of small-time policemen who extorted from motorists and the annihilation of the so-called �Padlock Gang� through the rubout of eight alleged criminals. But these are all just for show as Lacson and other military and police officials conspire with or are themselves the leaders of major criminal syndicates. They use their positions as cover for their illegal operations. Should Lacson seriously go after anyone, these would likely be elements from rival syndicates, dropouts, those planning to build their own gangs or those he fears would turn traitor.

But beyond the anti-crime stunt, Lacson wants to get away with and legitimize �vigilantism��the relentless use of power and violence unbound by, and even violative of, bourgeois judicial processes. There lies the added danger for the people from Lacson�s appointment as a PNP chief with a long record of utilizing illegal methods such as wiretapping, illegal arrest, detention, torture and salvaging.

These methods will surely be employed to surveil, intimidate and repress Estrada�s political rivals and most of all, the legal democratic movement in the cities, in the style of secret marshals during the Marcos dictatorship. (See related article) In this regard, Lacson once again tried to revive the national ID system despite strong opposition from progressive forces, religious organizations and civil rights groups. Lacson has also made sure that next year, the PNP�s intelligence funds would be boosted by 60%. One hundred million pesos will also be allotted for the purchase of new guns and vehicles.

Maneuvers by the Estrada-Lacson team

Lacson�s assumption to the post of PNP chief has resulted and will further result in deeper divisions within the PNP especially among the ranks of its leading officials. Many officials were demoralized when Estrada promoted his favorite super cop. There are as many as 56 generals in the military and PNP qualified for selection but despite Lacson�s putrid record, he was still appointed police chief. This is because Estrada knows too well that he could rely on Lacson to keep a watchful eye on the president�s political enemies and guarantee his boss� share in the booty from the operation of criminal syndicates.

Meanwhile, Lacson has had his personal rivals exiled to remote areas of the country. Senior Supt.

Eduardo Matillano, for instance, has been deployed to the PNP Eastern Visayas Regional Police Office Eight or PRO8. Col. Reynaldo Beroya, on the other hand, has been assigned to Mindanao.

The Estrada-Lacson team is making sure that the PAOCTF remains under its control so that it could still lead criminal syndicates that deal in drugs, smuggling, jueteng and other forms of illegal gambling.

Factionalism within the ranks of the ruling class could no longer be concealed and neither could the worsening political crisis. Particularly with the PNP, Estrada and Lacson themselves admit that the agency is gravely divided. The various factions of criminal syndicates within the PNP, where the Estrada-Lacson team is a major bloc, continue in their mad scramble for spoils and control over territory. Lacson�s appointment itself is proof of the deep discord within the ranks of the police.

Lacson�s promotion is a step taken by the Estrada regime to heighten the ferocity of its fascist machinery. With Lacson�s current posture, the regime can be certain that the PNP will remain a strong pillar of fascism in the country. But it will not be able to stanch the current social crisis that impels the people to wage resistance.

12 November 1999
English Edition

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