Quezon City mayor airs side on drug raps

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista sought to clear his name yesterday, a day after the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) filed criminal and administrative charges against him and his brother-Councilor Hero before the Office of the Ombudsman.

VACC chairman Dante Jimenez alleged that the illegal drug trade in the city became rampant when Bautista became the mayor.

He also claimed that Bautista failed to stop Hero from getting involved in illegal drugs.

Bautista said that Hero is an independent person and too old for a scolding.

“We barely see or talk to each other because we, as individuals, have our own set of lives and concerns,” he said.

Bautista – who is in Oslo, Norway for the peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines – said he is not and will never be involved in illegal drug activities.

He said fighting the spread of illegal drugs has been his advocacy since he was 17.

Asked why two former Quezon City Police District (QCPD) directors were linked to illegal drug activities, Bautista said he has no involvement in choosing the director. 

Former QCPD directors Edgardo Tinio and Joel Pagdilao are among the generals whom President Duterte claimed to be the protectors of drug lords in the country.

 “Even if the law or policy provides that the local chief executives will have to choose one from three to five names from the list given by the police, not a single list reached me,” Bautista said.

He said the city government supports the QCPD in terms of logistics in the fight to curb crime and illegal drugs.

He added that he also guides the Quezon City Peace and Order Council “as a matter of (Department of the Interior and Local Government) policy.”

Despite the controversies hurled against him, Bautista said he will continue his work as mayor.

Hero, 48, recently admitted that he was using illegal drugs and that he was the Quezon City councilor who tested positive for drug use when local officials underwent drug testing.