This is part 3 of a series on WHO IS PYRA LUCAS?
TARLAKENYO (February 8, 2026) – In the landscape of Central Luzon’s grassroots activism, few names once carried as much weight—or as much baggage—as Pyra Lucas.
Her journey into the public eye began in 2016, forged in the fires of a mother’s tragedy two years prior. She was a victim.
Lucas was named the Regional Coordinator for the Volunteer Against Crime and Corruption (VACC); she was a symbol of a grieving parent turned fierce protector. But as the years unfolded across the municipalities of Tarlac, the line between public service and personal enterprise began to blur, eventually dissolving into a series of legal battles and administrative expulsions.
The Unauthorized Frontier in Bamban
Lucas’s tenure at the VACC unravelled when she put her personal interests first before the organization.
Without the blessing of the VACC national office, she moved to plant flags where they didn’t belong. She established the VACC Bamban Chapter, recruiting a cast of local figures including Sonny Gomez, Murphy Serrano, Joshua Maglaqui, Willy Diamsay, Allan Salas, and Hilario Manigulod.
The optics of this unauthorized expansion were, at best, eyebrow-raising. Among her recruits was Gomez, linked to the ownership of the land housing the controversial POGO facility nestled behind the Bamban municipal hall.
Another associate, Diamsay, was a known loyalist of Concepcion’s former congressional candidate Andy Lacson. To observers, it looked less like a crime-fighting unit and more like a curated network of local influence.
Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista, the VACC national president, said that Lucas never had the authority to create the chapters she did in Mabalacat, Bamban, and Angat (Bulacan).
The P2.2 Million ‘Negotiation’
The facade finally cracked in April 2019. The VACC Board, through Resolution No. 3, officially severed ties with Lucas. The reason was a stark departure from the organization’s mission: she was accused of using the VACC as a personal piggy bank.
The most damning evidence came from Paul and Erlinda Santos. Seeking help for their son, Rurik Earl, who was embroiled in a DOJ rape case, the couple alleged that Lucas offered to “facilitate” a favorable outcome for a steep fee of P2,200,000.00.
Records indicate she collected P1.2 million in installments throughout 2017. When the promised “disposition” failed to materialize, the money allegedly vanished, leaving the Santos family with nothing but a heavy bill and a broken trust.
A Trail of Friction
Lucas didn’t just clash with civilians; she ruffled the feathers of the region’s highest-ranking law enforcers. Evangelista recalled that even the former Central Luzon police director, Aaron Aquino, had long been wary of her tactics.
“Actually, Aaron Aquino, when he was director of Region 3 police, he had complaints. So, upon learning that we expelled Pyra (Lucas), he said you should have done that a long time ago. The man (Aquino) really felt that he’s being attacked, his personality. She created a lot of stories against Aaron that time,” Evangelista shared.
Lucas used her personal story of tragedy to that of greed and deception, victimizing unsuspecting people with her beauty, charm, and cunning.
Sources of Tarlakenyo refuse to acknowledge that she is a crusader – “isa siyang ‘crook-sader’ dahil sa pambibiktima niya.”
From VACC to UPACC: The ‘Crook-sader’ Rebranded
When one door closed, Lucas simply built another. Following her expulsion, she founded the United Pilipino Against Crime and Corruption (UPACC). To her critics, the change in acronym was merely a cosmetic update for the same old methods.
In 2021, the crosshairs of her new organization turned toward Capas, Tarlac. She launched a digital offensive against Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan, branding him a “landgrabber” in a series of Facebook videos that reached thousands.
Catacutan didn’t take the bait quietly. During a press conference at the Capas Municipal Hall, he fired back with three counts of cyber libel, describing her 17-minute social media tirade as a calculated demolition of his reputation.
As Pyra Lucas continues her crusade under the UPACC banner, the courts in Tarlac are left to decide if she is truly a champion of the marginalized or a master of the “shakedown.”
For now, the “Crook-sader” remains a polarizing figure in the province—a reminder that in the fight against corruption, sometimes the sentinel is the one who needs watching.
