Bury hatchet, Biazon urges Lacson, Barbers

Would the two warring former policemen-turned senators listen to a former soldier-colleague?

Senators Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and Robert Barbers were urged yesterday to bury the hatchet and stop their feud for the sake of the Senate.

In making the appeal, Lacson’s opposition colleague Rodolfo Biazon said the quarrel between the two is putting the entire Senate in a bad light.

The two should just talk things over instead of feuding in public, he said.

Biazon, a former chief of the Armed Forces, said if his two colleagues do not keep quite, Senate President Franklin Drilon should intervene in their quarrel.

Lacson, who was Philippine National Police chief during the short-lived Estrada administration, and former Manila police colonel Barbers have been trading accusations.

Lacson linked Barbers to suspected drug lord Lawrence Wang a few days after the latter disclosed the contents of the report of three Senate committees recommending that the former PNP chief be further investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for his alleged drug connection.

Barbers said the opposition presidential hopeful was worried about the report that the Senate could act on soon and send to the DOJ.

Not true, Lacson said, since the recommendation of the three committees has been rendered "moot and academic" by the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing similar charges filed against him by former narcotics agent May Ong.

Barbers has also called his colleague names. Lacson did not want to resort to name-calling, saying Barbers "may be losing his cool." – Jess Diaz