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DÉJÀ VU in presidential race

April 12, 2022 Alfred P. Dalizon 458 views

Alfred DalizonI’M referring to Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson’s pronouncement that he was asked to drop his May 9 presidential bid to allow Vice President Leni Robredo and Senate President Tito Sotto to form a tandem for the coming elections.

The former PNP chief who visited Camp Crame on Monday to turnover some help to the force by the PNP Foundation Inc. did not reveal who approached him and made the suggestion but said the offer was relayed to him in Pampanga.

Sa akin may lumapit, alam niyo ang offer, doon sa Pampanga… alam niyo ang proposal niya sa akin: ‘Senator, kaya naming paatrasin si Kiko (Mrs. Robredo’s running mate Senator Francis Pangilinan) at ipasok si Senate President bilang vice president ni Leni basta magwithdraw ka lang,” the incorruptible member of PMA Class 1971 told a recent Pandesal Forum.

The senator said he rejected the offer. “I rejected. Sabi ko, anong klaseng offer ‘yan, ilalalaglag niyo ang kasama niyo para lang manalo ang principal ninyo? So I rejected,” he said

Sen. Lacson also said he heard there were also efforts to make Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senator Manny Pacquiao drop their respective presidential bids.

“I don’t know what kind of offer was given to Mayor Isko but I heard na ganun din, may effort, na para pagwithdrawhin siya. Si Senator Manny Pacquiao nag-express na rin, may lumapit din daw sa kanila, Anong klaseng mga tao ito, ‘di ba? Arrogance has no place in a decent society,” he said.

The presidential contender made the revelations as former Senator Bongbong Marcos Jr. maintained his lead in the latest Pulse Asia voter preference survey from March 17 to 21, getting 56 percent compared to Robredo’s 24.

I’m saying this is déjà vu since the same revelation was made by Sen. Grace Poe a day before the May 8, 2016 presidential elections won convincingly by the tough-talking Davao City Mayor Duterte.

“’Sila rin naman ang nagpa-disqualify sa akin… ‘Nung hindi gumana ‘yun, may banta raw sa ating demokrasya kaya kailangan ako ay umatras,’ Sen. Poe said on May 7, 2016 as she hit the camp of administration standard bearer Mar Roxas II then for finding new ways to get her out of the presidential race.

On May 7, 2016, Sen Poe claimed that it was Roxas’ camp that sought her disqualification from the presidential elections but failing to succeed, the former DILG chief’s camp wanted her to end her candidacy because of a supposed “threat to democracy.”

I still remember that days before the May 2016 presidential election, Roxas asked Poe to talk for the ‘unity of the country,’ saying they need to unite to prevent a government led by then frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte.

In turn, an angry Poe reiterated that only the people have the right to choose as she criticized Roxas’ camp for wanting a decision to be made by a select few. “Nandito ako tumatakbo, ipinipresenta sa inyo ang aking sarili, lahat ng aking kakulangan pero lahat din ng aking plano para sa inyo para kayo ang may kapangyarihan na mamili at hindi lamang sila na may mga posisyon na, mga may kaya, mga may makinarya,” she said in 2016.

The senator then maintained that she and Roxas have no reason to talk if the discussion would be about her possible withdrawal and even asserted she does not want to continue the supposed flaws of the former Aquino administration.

The rest is history.

CARLOS NAMES NEW PNP-ASG, EOD-K9 GROUP DIRECTORS

PNP chief, General Dionards Carlos on Monday ordered a minor reshuffle of some key PNP units which affected seven 1-star generals including the directors of the PNP Aviation Security Group and the Explosives and Ordnance Division/K-9 Group, I learned

Named as new PNP-ASG director was Brigadier Gen. Andre Dizon while the new EOD-K9 Group director is Brig. Gen. Ritchie Posadas. Dizon of PNP Academy Class 1994 replaced Brig. Gen. Ismael Yu Jr. of Philippine Military Academy Class 1992 while Posadas of PMA Class 1990 took over Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Llanera of PNPA Class 1988 .

Yu will retire this coming June 28 while Llanera will retire on July 2. Both were transferred to the Office of the Chief,PNP.

Another member of PNPA Class 1994, Brig. Gen. Bowenn Joey Masauding, the erstwhile Executive Officer of the PNP Directorate for Comptrollership was also replaced by Brig. Gen. Ross Alvarado of PNPA Class 1992. Masauding was transferred to the Office of the Chief,PNP and is expected to occupy the erstwhile position of Dizon as Senior Executive Assistant to Gen. Carlos.

Colonel Hector Maestral of PNPA Class 1993 on the other hand was transferred to the Police Regional Office 7 from the PNP Information Technology Management Service. Set to mark his 55th birthday this coming July 23, Maestral will be the new PRO7 Deputy Regional Director for Administration, a position which will earn him his star-rank. That means he has to complete his promotion papers two months from now and have them signed by all approving authorities.

Col. Ronald Briones was also relieved from the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and designated as Chief of Staff of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group.On the other hand, Brig. Gen. Robert Gallardo, the erstwhile chief of the Legislative Affairs Center of the PNP Directorate for Plans from PNPA Class 1990 was designated as the new PNP Deputy Director for Research and Development vice Brig. Gen. Bernard Tambaoan of PNPA Class 1993 who will retire this coming April 30.

Col. Nicolas Salvador of PNPA Class 1993, the erstwhile Manila Police District deputy director for administration was transferred to the PNP-DPL in the latest round of PNP reorganization.

Best wishes to all.

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