Lacson on MISG role during Martial Law: I never tortured anyone

Presidential aspirant and Senator Panfilo Lacson denied his alleged involvement in the human rights abuses during late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s implementation of Martial Law.

He made the remark when asked about historian Alfred McCoy’s claim in his book, Dark Legacy: Human Rights Under Marcos Regime, that Lacson was part of an elite torture group.

“Alam mo maraming mali sa sinulat ni Alfred McCoy. Nilahat niya ‘yung aking buong klase, ‘yung [Philippine Military Academy] Class '71. Ako po nag-graduate ng 1971. So 1972 nagdeklara ng martial law,” he said during the Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews aired on Saturday.

(You know, there are many parts of Alfred McCoy's book that are wrong. He generalized our entire class, the PMA Class '71. I graduated in 1971. Martial Law was declared in 1972.)

During that time, Lacson explained that he was a part of the Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group-Police Intelligence Branch which focused on criminality. This, he said, is different from the Security Branch which handled insurgency and other security issues.

“Ako po, nakatutok sa kidnap for ransom, mga robbery holdup, at mga common crimes. ‘Yun po ang aking pinamumunuan noon. Kaya mali ho agad yung kaniyang premise na ako kasama doon sa mga nagto-torture na mga political prisoners, hindi po totoo ‘yun,” he said.

(I focused on the cases of kidnap for ransom, holdup, and common crimes. Those are the operations which I led back then. That is why his premise is wrong at the outset that I was involved in the torture of political prisoners. Those are not true.)

Lacson then recalled the positive effects  of the military rule and the abuses after the first six months of implementation.

“First six months, napakadisiplinado ng mga tao, alam mo, nagkawala, maski istambay. Ang dumarating sa aming mga complaints noon, away ng kapitbahay. ‘Yun ang pinakamalala, but over time, after 6 months, pumasok na ‘yung abuso. Pumasok na ‘yung greed,” he said.

(In the first six months, the people are very disciplined. Bystanders are nowhere to be found. The complaints back then are feuds between neighbors. That is the worst case at that time. But over time, after six months, there were already abuses. There was greed already.)

“Well, you said it all at yun din ang uulitin ko, sayang ‘yung martial law. Kung nagpatuloy lamang katulad ng ginawa ni Lee Kuan Yew sa Singapore, malayo na sana ang Pilipinas,” he added.

(Well, you said it all and I will repeat, Martial Law could have been a good measure. If it was implemented like how Lee Kuan Yew did it in Singapore, Philippines could have been a better place.)

Lacson also said he has done his part to correct the abuses of Martial Law. --KBK, GMA News