Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said Thursday that leadership by example remains the most effective tool for maintaining discipline within the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Speaking to reporters, the senator argued that the head of the national police must maintain personal integrity to effectively command the rank and file.

“When I was Chief PNP, I had only one baseline — leadership by example,” said the senator. “If the Chief PNP does not extort or engage in crime, he has the moral authority to tell his men to follow his example.”

Lacson’s remarks follow a string of recent high-profile crimes involving police personnel. These include a rape case in Cebu, a stabbing at the national police headquarters in Camp Crame, and an incident in Negros Oriental where an officer killed three colleagues and a civilian.

The lawmaker, who led the police force from 1999 to 2001, said his approach during his tenure helped purge rogue officers and improve public approval ratings.

He expressed confidence that acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla would address what he described as the “ICU” — inept, corrupt and undisciplined — members of the force.

“Nartatez knows my style as Chief PNP,” Lacson said. “I hope he, with the help of the DILG secretary, will discipline the police.”

The senator also announced plans to file legislation to reform the PNP Internal Affairs Service. He proposed making the unit independent from the police hierarchy to grant it greater authority in investigating rogue officers.

“The IAS must be separate from the PNP and have more teeth and more power,” Lacson said. “For now, it seems to be an adjunct of the PNP and is not truly independent.”