Duterte to bare drug list after Vietnam trip

MANILA, Philippines - President Rodrigo Duterte will reveal more names of officials with suspected links to illegal drugs trade after his two-day visit to Vietnam as part of his brutal crackdown on narcotics.

Duterte said the list, which has about 1,000 names, includes lawmakers, local executives, barangay officials and members of the judiciary.

“The latest, I hope I will (reveal), Inshallah (God willing), upon my return (from Vietnam),” the president said.

“I will have one session with the media and I will read (the names). This would be again about the judges, some congressmen, mayors, there are a lot of them, barangay captains, almost all, and the police, military one or two,” he added.

In previous speeches, Duterte said the third list contains the names of about 40 judges and several Chinese individuals and barangay captains. He said he is leaving it to the military and police to deal with the suspected drug personalities. 

The president has so far tagged more than 160 incumbent and retired local executives, lawmakers, uniformed men, judges and barangay captains in the narcotics trade. Duterte said the shame campaign was meant to inform the public about the true state of the country. Critics argue that the naming of suspected drug offenders violate due process. 

Duterte, however, had to apologize to three individuals last Monday for the lapses in the verification of some names in his drug matrix.

In a press conference in Arayat, Pampanga, Duterte admitted that he could not explain the inclusion of the names of former Pangasinan governor and now fifth district Rep. Amado Espino Jr., former provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and board member Raul Sison in the list. The three were included in the drug matrix he presented to the media last month. 

“It may be either intrigue or gossip or it was purposely done without really checking the validity (of information about their involvement to drugs),” Duterte told reporters last Monday.

“Somehow, we were negligent in counterchecking during the first report,” he added. 

Also in the drug matrix were Sen. Leila de Lima, her former driver Ronnie Dayan and former justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan III. Duterte, however, did not apologize to them, saying there is enough evidence linking them to illegal drugs

Duterte said his apology to the three officials did not undermine the credibility of his drug list. 

“I said it is my duty to tell the nation what’s happening but it is also my duty that if I commit wrong, I should apologize. That is the way to go in this world,” the president said.  

“As a lawyer, when you make public a certain wrong against a person, you’d have effectively destroyed his reputation. So fair is fair. I have committed a lot of mistakes in my life,” he added.

“I will not pretend that I am perfect. I have so many faults in life.”