Ping joining Cabinet? Noy mum

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino hinted yesterday about a possible Cabinet revamp and said he would “endeavor to keep” those who were performing well.

Asked if Sen. Panfilo Lacson was indeed being eyed as anti-crime czar, Aquino said: “We haven’t talked in a long while.”

The President said he was satisfied with the performance of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. as the current head of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and that based on the statistics of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the crime rate was going down.

He said crime indices would show some incidents had decreased by up to 50 percent in the two years the administration has been in office.

Aquino announced in London that he would like Lacson and Sen. Francis Pangilinan to join his Cabinet.

Sources said Lacson might become anti-crime czar while Pangilinan would become presidential adviser on agricultural affairs.

Sen. Ralph Recto echoed the statement of Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who revealed Tuesday that he has no problem if Lacson will become part of the official family.

“I think Sen. Ping Lacson, who headed the PNP before and the PAOCTF, knows what to do in any of those positions. He should be welcomed in the Cabinet of the President in whatever position,” Recto said in an interview.

He, however, was quick to say that his position does not mean that Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, another staunch LP member, should be removed from his post.

Recto said he thinks the senator is “okay” if he would be assigned to a Cabinet post once his Senate term expires next year. – With Christina Mendez