‘I stood my ground, haan ko inbabain iti Kalinga’ –Ret. PBGen. Ludan recalling his assignment in other places

Being assigned outside his home province was never easy for iKalinga Retired PBGen. Steve Ludan, but he said he stood his ground even amidst ‘character assassination’ as he was representing Kalinga and he never wanted to embarrass his roots.

During the ‘Know Your Candidates’ forum held at the Tabuk City Hall on December 5, Ludan, a congressional aspirant in Kalinga, shared one of the challenges he faced in his almost 35 years in police service.

According to him, the highlight of his career in all those years was when the command of the Police Regional Office 2 was entrusted to him by the president in July 2021 until December 2022 when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56.

Within those times, Ludan recounted he faced a number of challenges including ‘character assasination’. 

“Even when you’re sitting as a regional director, adu iti mang-challenge iti panagtakem mo karkaru nu manayunan iti pulitika. Ket I have experienced that. I have experienced character assassination as a regional director,” he recalled.

Ludan added that amidst those issues made against him, he didn’t get swayed as he had to stand firm being the first Binodngan regional director to be assigned in the Cagayan Valley.

“I stood my ground, intakder ko iti Kalinga, haan ko inbabain iti Kalinga when I was regional director,” he emphasized.

Initiatives and projects for Kalinga

In his three decades in the Philippine National Police, Ret. PBGen. Ludan was never given the chance to be assigned in Kalinga. This, however, does not mean he did not give and look back to his home province all those years, because he did.

While that opportunity to directly serve the people of Kalinga never came to Ludan in all those 35 years, he utilized his position to make sure that the Province of Kalinga is not left behind particularly in having facilities for police officers.

Among the projects implemented for Kalinga through him include the building of the Multipurpose Building at the Kalinga Provincial Police Office; 2 phases of perimeter fencing at KPPO; the building of the Lubuagan Municipal Police Station; facilities improvement at Pasil Police Station; issuance of at least one patrol car to each of the police stations in Kalinga from 2017 – 2022; and the procurement of office equipment and supplies for the municipal police stations and mobile force units in the province.

Ludan also extended his help to his kailyans during the Covid-19 pandemic through his ‘Badang Assistance’ to iKalingas stranded in Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite, and other areas. Likewise, he was one of those who supported the ‘Oplan Padatong’ that ferried a number of stranded iKalingas back home during the lockdown.

The one-star general also provided support assistance to the mini-hydro in Balbalasang, Balbalan; supported modern and hygienic public comfort rooms in Lubo; and provided support assistance to various schools in Kalinga.

Providing opportunities to young iKalingas who wanted to enter the uniformed service, he assisted applicant enlistment and pushed for the opening of Tabuk City as PMA Testing Center including the exam for Coast Guard applicants. He also helped in the promotion and transfer of the iKalinga PNP personnel. 

What’s next for Ludan?

Now that he is retired, he is seeking for a position where he could directly work for his kailyans this time. He said that instead of enjoying his retirement, he was inspired to file his COC for Congressman for the next year’s election as he wanted to continue serving his fellow iKalingas.

“Maysa laeng iti ilablaban tayo daytoy nga panggep tayo nga agsubli iti public service, we are for righteous governance, good governance, and we are for transparency and accountability,” he asserted.