PNoy Picks Lacson as Rehab Czar

Following Malacañang’s hints on Sunday pointing to the qualifications of former Senator and PNP Director General Panfilo Lacson to lead rehabilitation efforts in Yolanda hit areas, Lacson told reporters later that day that he accepts the Palace’s invitation to be rehab czar.

Via text message on Sunday night, the former senator said “After a series of consultations and briefings from experts in the field of reconstruction and rehabilitation of disaster stricken areas over the weekend, I decided to accept the President’s offer to be rehab czar,”

A statement issued by Malacañang reads: “President Aquino thanked former Senator Lacson for accepting his invitation for him to assume a lead role in overseeing rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda. The full scope of his duties and responsibilities will be embodied in an executive order that will be issued shortly.”

Communications secretary Hermino Coloma on Sunday had good words for Lacson when asked about the possibility of his being rehab czar, but would not confirm it even after Lacson texted reporters that he had been chosen for the job.

“Kilala na po siya sa kanyang record ng paglilingkod. Naging director general po siya ng Philippine National Police bago po siya naging senador, at ‘yung kanya namang paglilingkod [as] senador for two terms ay maganda naman po ang kanyang record bilang legislator at public servant,” Coloma said in an interview aired over state-run DZRB.

Lacson served as senator from 2001 to 2013. But before that he served as Director General of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for two years. He also worked at the Metropolitan Command (Metrocom) Intelligence and Security Group (MISG) from 1971 to 1986. Lacson was commissioned at the Philippine Constabulary (PC) after graduating from the Philippine Military Academy in 1971.

Former president Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada appointed Lacson to head the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF). In his stint, he was linked to several brutal killings, including those of the well-known publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver and the controversial ‘kuratong baleleng’ case in 2005.

While serving as senator in 2010, Lacson went overseas as a fugitive from justice, with Interpol assisting in the search. He returned in March 2011 after being cleared by the courts.

Post Disaster Reconstruction

While President Aquino has not made any public statement about Lacson’s supposed new assignment, Lacson has said he had talked to experts in post-disaster reconstruction.

“Those consultations gave me the confidence that the task, while daunting, is doable within the period of his presidency. I have informed the President of my decision and he has acknowledged the same,” Lacson said.

Authorities said Yolanda has affected more than 11 million individuals, killing some 5,600 people, and leaving millions homeless and displaced.

As rehabilitation involves an enormous amount of money, including funds from sympathetic foreign donors, the Budget Department has allocated more than P130 billion for this year until the end of 2014 to finance the rehabilitation of the typhoon-hit areas in the Visayas Region.

Fifty billion of those funds will be sourced from the 2014 budget allocation, savings from the 2013 budget, and unused “pork barrel” of lawmakers. The other P80 billion will be sourced through “concessional loans” from multilateral lending agencies.

Reports said about P40.9 billion of the said fund will be allocated in the following way:

67 percent for construction of public infrastructure, including roads, bridges and other facilities
12 percent for livelihood projects
11 percent for local facilities
9 percent for social services, including health services and education

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) disclosed that reconstruction costs required for the Philippines will be more expensive than the post-tsunami efforts needed in rebuilding Aceh in Indonesia, where the deaths exceeded 100,000.

The government has identified some 171 municipalities from 14 provinces as “first-priority areas” in the said recovery plan.

On Monday, the NDRRMC reported the damage brought by super typhoon Yolanda increases to P34 billion.

President Aquino reportedly told a Cabinet meeting on Friday that he had decided to appoint Lacson his rehabilitation “czar.” Lacson said he would spend the weekend thinking it over after a lengthy meeting with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa.

Source: Gma News Online