BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong divulged how Partido Reporma Chairman Panfilo Lacson assured his then subordinates that no one will be left behind under his leadership.

Magalong shared many anecdotes about Lacson and revealed his most striking stories when he recounted his experiences while working under the former chief of the Philippine National Police as the commander of its elite Special Action Force.

Magalong admitted he had “a very difficult life working under him,” but saw firsthand how Lacson always looked after the welfare of all policemen, especially those under SAF.

On his very first day as SAF commander, Magalong said one policeman died in an encounter. Lacson sternly reprimanded him, the Baguio mayor recalled, but was surprised with what the then-PNP chief did after.

“Kaya ang lungkot-lungkot ko. After siguro mga isang oras, tumawag na sa akin ‘yung PNP comptroller, si General Acop — Congressman Romy Acop — ‘Benjie, sabihin mo sa akin ilan ‘yung anak ng pamilya nung namatay na pulis natin? Makakatanggap sila lahat ng scholarship hanggang mag-graduate sila sa college,’” Magalong said.

“And then during the particular awarding, alam ninyo ba kung ano’ng ibinigay sa pamilya nung namatay kong sundalo? Nabigyan niya ng house and lot. Ganyan po si Senator Lacson,” Magalong told members of the Rotary Club during a dialogue at the Newtown Hotel.

Magalong shared other stories of Lacson’s leadership in the PNP, where he successfully eradicated the culture of “kotong’ or extortion and turned the funds of the national police over to the local units, allowing them to be better-equipped and more capable of serving Filipinos nationwide.

The Baguio chief executive also recalled a mission in Jolo, Sulu where three of his SAF men were wounded but could not be airlifted right away to Zamboanga for immediate medical attention.

Instead of waiting for a C130, Lacson authorized the PNP to buy three rows of seats on a commercial flight on Philippine Airlines to Manila to accommodate the SAF men on stretchers – then had them sent to the St. Luke’s Hospital to be operated on and ultimately saved their lives, Magalong said.

Another time, a SAF operative was severely wounded, the mayor recalled.

Lacson told him to get the policeman to the private Makati Medical Center, but after two weeks his hospital bill had grown to over P1.5 million.

Magalong reported this to Lacson.

“Pinagalitan niya ako, sabi niya, ‘hindi mo trabaho ‘yan. Bumalik ka na sa field. Trabaho ko ‘yan. Huwag mo pakialaman ‘yan. Trabaho ko ‘yan.’”