PRESIDENTIAL candidate Panfilo “Ping” Lacson assured Filipinos that they have nothing to worry about exercising their freedon of expression and dissent since there will be no suppression of media once elected into office.

The Partido Reporma standard-bearer said under a Lacson administration, there will no such term as “controlling” of media organizations despite them making his life miserable in the past.

In an interview on “In Focus” over ABS-CBN News Channel, the veteran lawmaker said he never harbored ill feeling towards media or anyone inspite of the many untruthful stories they published about him during the time of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to which he was subjected to intense political persecution.

What he wanted or request for the Fourth Estate is to live up to its own ideals which is to side only with the truth.

In this case, the people according to Lacson, will be guided by the facts alone and innocent citizens will be spared from going through a rough experience like he and other people wrongly judged by the public had due to false narratives.

“I always welcome criticisms. As long as you have the truth on your side, there’s nothing wrong. Because after all, at the end of the day, sabi ko nga, ‘yung truth ang lalabas at lalabas (like I said, truth shall always prevail). And it has been proven, at least in my own personal experience,” Lacson said.

In his conversation with ANC news anchor Karmina Constantino, Lacson reiterated he has already been vindicated by the courts with respect to the controversies that hounded him in the past like the Kuratong Baleleng and the Dacer-Corbito cases.

He added that neither him nor the people who could not move on from those episodes in his public life, but his critics and political detractors that could not find anything new to attack him, now that he is making another presidential bid.

The former top cop likewise mentioned that he owed it to the late Senator Aquilino ‘Nene’ Pimentel, Jr. for advising him to never let the lies being told about him continue, which allowed him to muster up the courage and defend his honor and dignity in a privilege speech during his first term in the Senate.

Lacson however, said that just because he is giving traditional or mainstream media industries a pass on some critical stories doesn’t mean he would be engaging with trolls, as social media operates under a completely different landscape altogether.

He did not deny of having developed a habit of blocking strangers on social media, especially those who are exhibiting troll-like behavior.

Lacson explaiined it was his way of guarding himself against ne’er-do-well netizens following him online particularly on Twitter, where he maintains an active personal account.

“So, I’d rather be quiet, keep quiet, and just block… Ayaw ko lang ‘yung I will, you know, i-expend ko ‘yung energy on worthless endeavors or worthless conversations. Mas marami akong trabahong dapat gawin, Karmina,” Lacson added.