Alex Lacson

Alexander Ledesma Lacson (born January 5, 1965) is a Filipino bestselling author of patriotic books, a poet, lawyer, businessman, civil society leader, and NGO leader. He is best known as the bestselling author of the books 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country and Five Hundred Years Without Love, for the poem "I am Filipino" and for running in the 2010 Philippine Senate election.

Early life Lacson was born on January 5, 1965 in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental,

Education After finishing high school in 1982,

As a student, Lacson was the leader of three campus organizations. He was president of the Association of Political Science Majors, chairman of the Independent Student Alliance political party, and lord chancellor of the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity at the UP College of Law. He was also a member of the UP Law debate team, which defeated the Ateneo Law School team in 1992 in a competition hosted by the Association of Law Schools of the Philippines.

In 2002, Lacson took a short summer program at Harvard Law School. The writer Lester Cavestany summed up Lacson's legislative platform in three points: educational support, scholarship, and "faith in the Filipino".

He lost again but was offered a position in the Aquino administration, which he declined. Instead, Lacson founded the Kabayanihan Foundation to promote patriotism and good citizenship.

In 2022, he ran as senator under Ang Kapatiran and was supported by the 1Sambayan coalition. He was also named to the Team Robredo–Pangilinan senatorial slate of Vice President Leni Robredo. However, he lost once again.

Advocacy and philanthropy

Lacson is the current chairman of the Civil Service Commission's Advisory Council, which is composed of leaders in various sectors who help the Civil Service Commission improve its systems, operations, and quality of public service. He is a member of the boards of trustees of World Vision Philippines, Alay Buhay Community Development Inc., the Dilaab Foundation, and the Joey Velasco Foundation.

He is also the lead convenor of the Pilipino Movement for Transformational Leadership (PMTL), a coalition of faith-based organizations from Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical groups that aims to elect honest, competent, and dedicated public servants. During the 2016 national elections, the group created the Gabay Kristo ("Christ Guide"), a scorecard that it used as a voter's guide for all the member organizations of the PMTL.

Since 2001, Lacson has been supporting scholars in Kabankalan, including the children of some of his own high school classmates. He has also been supporting scholars under World Vision since 2007. He and his wife established a foundation to help underprivileged children through school, which is now subsidizing 27 students in public schools in Lacson’s province of Negros Occidental. it struck a nerve among many Filipinos.

The 12 "little things" are: Follow traffic rules. Follow the law. Whenever you buy or pay for anything, always ask for an official receipt. Don't buy smuggled goods. Buy local. Buy Filipino. When you talk to others, especially foreigners, speak positively about us and our country. Respect your traffic officer, policeman, and soldier. Do not litter. Dispose of your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve. Support your church. During elections, do your solemn duty. Pay your employees well. Pay your taxes. Adopt a scholar or a poor child. Be a good parent. Teach your kids to follow the law and love our country. According to Lacson, it was the Philippine Star founder and columnist Maximo Soliven who opened the door for him and his book. Lacson and Soliven met for the first time on December 15, 2005, five months after the book was published. According to Soliven, his new BMW broke down in the middle of the street, and Lacson pulled over and offered to help. Inside Lacson's car, Soliven saw a few copies of his book, and four days later, on December 19, he wrote a newspaper column titled "A Filipino of Faith".

The column went viral on social media. Many people called Soliven's office to ask how to contact Lacson and where to buy his book. Lacson started receiving speaking invitations—more than 300 in 2006 alone—and sales took off.

Awards and honors The awards Lacson has received include: Family Values Award, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines (November 2014) Most Distinguished Lay Leader, Diocese of Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental (March 2013) Good Citizen / Good Filipino award, Edsa People Power Commission (February 2009) Best in Filipino linguistics award, M.I. International School (2009) Good Pilipino award, Galing Pilipino Movement (2006)

Personal life In 1990, Lacson and his siblings discovered a half-brother from their father and another woman, who had died giving birth to the child. In 1995, when Lacson was studying for the bar examination, he took time off to search for his half-brother in Palawan, whom he found with the help of his paternal aunts in a remote barangay. Lacson's father-in-law, Teodoro Peña, found the half-brother eom employment as a janitor and messenger at Palawan State University in Puerto Princesa. Lacson subsequently decided to help all four of his half-brother's children with their studies. The eldest finished college and got a job at a hotel in Puerto Princesa; another is employed in one of Lacson's companies.

Lacson married fellow lawyer Pia Peña in 1995, and they have four children: Theo, Angeli, Ally, and John.

In 1999, at the height of the financial crisis in Asia, Lacson and his wife considered moving to the United States or Canada. Lacson's older brother and his family had immigrated to the US the year before and in 1999, another brother and his family applied for residency in Canada. In 2000, however, Lacson and his wife decided to stay in the Philippines.