Beware: Duterte namedroppers

The on-going campaign against illegal drugs by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has left more than 3,000 suspects killed at its wake.

Of the number, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported 1,390 suspects killed for resisting arrest and being categorized as drug addicts in legitimate anti-drug operations, as of yesterday.

But more than half of those killed or 2,294 drug suspects were classified as “deaths under investigation.” These alleged drug suspects were reportedly slain not during police anti-drug operations or encounters. Their cases are considered as homicide or murder that the PNP has yet to solve.

As the President observes his first 100 days in office tomorrow, his administration is thus marked by the bloody trail of the PNP’s anti-drug “Double-barrel” campaign dubbed “Oplan Tokhang.”

The high kill-rate of the anti-drug campaign has placed the President under fire for human rights abuses because of alleged commission of extra-judicial killings (EJKs) of many drug suspects.

Notwithstanding the severe criticisms here and abroad of the alleged EJKs, Duterte maintains he won’t be stopped in his administration’s determination to prevent the country from becoming a “narco” state. He repeatedly cites the country’s grave problem of more than three million drug addicts that may send to perdition the next generation of Filipinos.

In his latest pronouncements, President Duterte admitted this was the reason why he proclaimed last month a state of lawlessness all over the country. Exercising his power as commander-in-chief under the 1987 Constitution, the President called upon the military to help the PNP to beef up the war against drug lords and narco syndicates.

The President’s move came after his so-called “narco list” of alleged drug personalities has increased despite his threats “to kill” them if they resist arrest and continue to ply their nefarious drugs trade. From his original “narco list” of 1,200 personalities on day one of administration on July 1, the President revealed last Tuesday that it has grown to 8,000 drug personalities.

As vetted by law enforcement authorities, the “narco list” included governors, mayors, congressmen, barangay officials, police and military officers as allegedly among those involved in illegal drugs trade.

“That’s why my first step then was to order all military and police personnel assigned to politicians to go home within 24 hours,” the President recalled.

While these alleged drug personalities have remained unnamed for now, the President announced yesterday he is ready to publish or make public the entire “narco list.” But he stopped short though on when he would do it.

Of the latest number on the list, the President noted about 4,000 to 5,000 are barangay officials. This is why, the Chief Executive asked leaders of the 17th Congress to postpone the scheduled barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

“Narco politics is here already. That’s the reason why I told the Speaker and the Senate president, do not call for an election in the barangay now. It will be a disaster,” he said.

“If you call an election, the winners will be the ones with money.”  

Taking the cue from the President, his allies in Congress promptly approved the proposed postponement of the barangay and SK elections from Oct. 31 to Oct. 23, 2017. The enrolled bill is now awaiting the President’s approval to become the first law he will sign.

The President so far has shamed more than 160 former and incumbent local executives, lawmakers, uniformed personnel and judges with alleged ties to drug rings. But last week, he apologized for the inclusion in the “narco list” of former Pangasinan governor and now Congressman Amado Espino and two other local executives in the province.  

But not even the tough-talking President Duterte apparently still does not scare narco syndicates with latest arrests one after the other of Filipino and foreign drug mules foiled in their drug smuggling bid. Multi-million pesos worth of high-grade cocaine were found in the luggage of the suspects at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport when they flew in to the country from Brazil.

Surprisingly, namedroppers and extortionists at Aduana are not also afraid of President Duterte. With the Christmas season already in the air in our country, the seasonal increase of imports has apparently also emboldened smugglers to get through their shipments without paying correct duties and taxes. While the others merely want to facilitate their transactions at the Bureau of Customs, the President still wants no one to be given a special privilege.

The seeming boldness of these “namedroppers” at Customs Bureau has reached the President’s ears.

What irked him more were alleged attempts by these namedroppers to have the galls to invoke their being close or having supported him in the last May 9 presidential elections.

A fuming President Duterte told his designated Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon to arrest these namedroppers whoever he, or she, or they maybe. This I personally witnessed and heard during the birthday reception for Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo last Wednesday night.

Faeldon was seated at one table in a serious huddle with presidential adviser on economic affairs Ramon Jacinto.

Then Faeldon went to the President’s table and whispered to him. The President then turned around to announce he just reminded the Customs chief to do what he has to do whoever these namedroppers are.

While he was still a Davao City fiscal, he recalled having gone through the same experience of people trying to “namedrop” high officials in government “to fix” cases in favor of their clients. “Once these namedroppers leave my office, I file the case the next day against their clients,” he said.

The President reiterated his trust to Faeldon to keep his nose clean as his Customs chief. Faeldon is a former Marine captain who figured in the infamous Oakwood mutiny in 2003. He was released from detention in January 2011 and has since been making the rounds in schools to encourage students to join the fight against corruption.

The namedroppers of the President would remain un-named apparently for now. But beware, he knows who they are.