Duterte names poll bets linked to drugs
Credit to Author: CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT| Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2019 12:35:41 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte released another list of politicians allegedly involved in illegal drug trade in the country, ahead of the May 13 midterm elections.
Duterte made public the government’s so-called narcolist at the National Peace and Order Council meeting in Davao City on Thursday night.
In his speech, Duterte said the list, which contains the names of alleged narcopoliticians, was vetted and validated by authorities.
“Since my assumption in 2016, I have committed to eradicate the drug problem. I have done that. My decision to unmask these drug personalities was anchored on my trust in the government agencies who have vetted and validated the narco-list,” Duterte said.
“The Department of Interior and Local Government has filed administrative cases against them, local officials today, March 14, 2019, at the Office of the Ombudsman,” he added.
Some of the alleged narco-politicians mentioned by Duterte were Representatives Jesus Celeste (Pangasinan) and Jeffrey Khonghun (Zambales).
Also named narco-politicians were Mayors Ferdinand Aguinaldo (Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte), Marjorie Salazar (Lasam, Cagayan), Jefferson Khonghun (Subic, Zambales), Erlon Agusin (Camiling, Tarlac), Cipriano Violago Jr. (San Rafael, Bulacan), Eulalio Larry Alilio (Lemery, Batangas), Raul Palino (Teresa, Rizal), and Cecilio Hernandez (Rodriguez, Rizal).
Mayors Loreto Amante (San Pablo, Laguna), Juan Toreja (Ibaan, Batangas), and Roderick Alcala (Lucena City) were also included.
But Duterte stopped reading, saying he was not sure about the other names there.
READ MORE: Partial list of politicians linked to drugs
“Yung iba ‘wag na muna kasi hindi ko sigurado. Yung nai-file na, medyo validated na, we can say we have gathered enough proof,” he said.
This is the third drug list released by the Duterte administration. The first included judges, mayors, and police officials published in August 2016, while the second was a list of barangay officials issued just weeks before the barangay elections in May 2018.
As of March 5, the narco-list was down to 82 politicians, including mayors, vice mayors, congressmen, governors and vice governors, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
The DILG has been pushing for the release of the narco-list to serve as a guide for voters in the coming May polls.
But the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) opposed the release of the list, warning that it may lead to more election-related violence ahead of the May 13 midterm polls.
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo had said the release of the narco-list was in line with the government’s duty to protect the people and make them know who among the candidates in the May polls were supposedly involved in the drug trade.
“The idea of presenting a list by the DILG and PDEA is to tell the electorate on the kind of candidates they would choose from and I think it will help them,” Panelo had said.
“[On] the fear that it may destroy the presumption of innocence, to my mind there’s a judicial remedy for that. If you feel you’ve been libeled, you can always go to the courts,” he added.
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