'Height of impropriety': Lacson denies meeting with VP Duterte

Panfilo "Ping" Lacson is proclaimed as a senator-elect by the Commission on Elections, May 17, 2025. Handout/Panfilo Lacson Media Team

MANILA — Senator-elect Panfilo "Ping" Lacson denied rumors circulating online that he and a fellow senator-elect met with Vice President Sara Duterte. 

"As an elected senator who is a potential senator-judge in the impeachment trial involving the vice president should the said trial cross over to the 20th Congress, it is the height of impropriety to meet with her, being a respondent in the said impeachment case already transmitted to the Senate," he said. 

Lacson added that he would find nothing wrong with paying a courtesy visit to the VP under normal circumstances or without an impeachment trial looming in Senate.

Meanwhile, Lacson said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for reconciliation with the Duterte family could be interpreted by some as a “weakness.”

What the President needs, he said, is a 'bastonero' or platoon leader in Tagalog, to “make government officials under him toe the line.” 

Marcos Jr: 'I want to be respected but maybe fear is better'

"The openness to reconcile with the Duterte family is very typical of PBBM as a person. Yet his kindness and the goodness of his heart in dealing with people are being interpreted by both his allies and adversaries as a weakness of his leadership. That said, he may need a strong but well-intentioned 'bastonero' in his Cabinet who is capable of making government officials, including members of Congress, toe the line towards good governance," he said.

The senator-elect added that the bastonero should be strong but well-intentioned, and does not have the tendency to abuse power.

Lacson claimed he is a good fit for the position as a former chief of the Philippine National Police. 

He said: “When I was PNP Chief, I had said, quoting Machiavelli, that I’d rather be feared than loved if I cannot be both.”

Senator-brothers JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada, for their part, supported the President's call for reconciliation, saying officials should focus on nation-building now that the elections are over.

“Sa mga lumalabas na pahayag at mga balita, mukhang malalim na ang alitan at hidwaan. Pero kahit parang malabo at mahirap sa ngayon, umaasa pa rin tayo, at praying, na magkakaroon ng positive development,” said Ejercito.

(Based on the news, the conflict seems deeply-rooted. Even if it seems difficult now, we are still hoping and praying that there would be a positive development.)

“We have so many pressing problems that need us to work together and stay focused. I hope we can just prioritize the country’s current challenges. If we join forces, we can help our people and our country move forward,” he added.

Estrada reiterated his opposition to the impeachment trial, but added he would still act on the complaints "as a duly elected member of the Senate."

Marcos Jr. said on his podcast’s first episode he is willing to reconcile with the Duterte family after a series of events damaged the two dynasties’ relationship.

'Ayoko ng gulo': Marcos Jr. open to reconcile with Duterte family

The Marcos-Duterte alliance, which peaked during the 2022 elections, saw a rift when the former president Rodrigo Duterte accused Marcos Jr. of being a “drug addict.”

Then, Vice President Sara Duterte’s use of confidential and intelligence funds was probed in Congress, eventually leading to her impeachment in the House under the Speakership of Marcos Jr.’s cousin, Martin Romualdez.

Meanwhile, former president Rodrigo Duterte remains under the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands.

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