Senator Panfilo Lacson yesterday assured that stealing lives through extra-judicial killings (EJK), which he considered a form of theft, will not be a policy under his watch.
He said stories of civilians getting their lives cut short because of EJK at the height of the gruesome war on drugs and the pervading culture of impunity are something that Filipinos would neither be forced to accept nor endure under a Lacson administration.
The Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer said this is part of his commitment to wipe out thieves and turn the wheels of justice in favor of the oppressed and the aggrieved when he receives the mandate to lead the country in the next six years.
“The EJK is a form of theft in that you are deliberately taking the life (of your victim) outside of what is called the rule of law,” Lacson said of lives that could never be recovered once stolen.
He explained that acts of stealing are not just limited to the intent of taking material possessions or properties without the consent of their rightful owners, but also lives and opportunities for a better future, especially for the minors who have fallen victims to EJK and other crimes, including corruption.
He cited the case of 17-year-old Kian de los Santos, who was fatally shot by police officers in a drug raid that went south in Caloocan City back in August 2017, as well as other victims his age that were treated as collateral damage in the badly orchestrated Philippine drug war.
“One can steal so many things, not just material possessions, but also the future of those who belong to the next generation; you are stealing their future (when you kill them through extrajudicial means),” he said.
“It is actually very broad when we speak about issues of stealing. This is what we really have to address because, the way I see it, at least 50 percent of the problems in our country can be solved if we also get rid of corruption,” the presidential bet said in a radio interview.
Lacson is seeking the presidency in the May 2022 national elections on the platform of good governance and the elimination of crime and corruption under the mantra “Fix the Government, Get Rid of Thieves.”
He will use the leadership skills he acquired over the years, especially when he transformed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and exposed corrupt individuals during his 18-year stint at the Senate, to thwart the thieves thriving in our society.
