Mayors: No one is above the law

MANILA, Philippines – Go ahead, name the “narco mayors.”

The 23 mayors allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade will have to face the accusations against them because “no one is above the law,” the national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) said yesterday.

The head of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines also said he did not see anything wrong with President Duterte’s plan to name the mayors with alleged links to drugs.

Duterte is set to identify the mayors, according to Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa, and might ask the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to take action against them.

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, LCP national president, said the problem on illegal drugs was already widespread but stressed he was not privy to the identities of the 23 local executives.

Bautista expressed belief though that Duterte would not release the names without due investigation and validation coming from various intelligence sources.

Bautista added it would be up to the President to decide when the public should know about the list.

The Quezon City mayor said the move to reveal top government officials linked to the illegal drug trade helps reaffirm the boldness and determination of the President to put an end to the drug menace.

Members of the LCP will make recommendations on what steps can be taken against mayors facing allegations related to drugs once they meet next week, Bautista said.

He said the problem of illegal drugs was ruining the youth, society and image of the country. He lamented that even the innocent, like the children of those being linked to drugs, were affected.

For his part, LMP national president, Javier, Leyte Mayor Leonardo “Sandy” Javier Jr. said the mayors suspected to have drug links comprised only a small percentage of their ranks.

Javier said it was very disappointing that they were sullying the good reputation of the mayors but conceded that as with any organization, “there are really scalawags.”

Javier, who ran under the Liberal Party, was all praises for Duterte, saying he was doing a “fantastic thing.”

“We are all behind him,” Javier said, adding he himself was surprised that in their small town, at least 90 people had surrendered to the police because of drugs.

“I hate drugs because they destroy families, the very fiber of our nation,” he said. 

He added it was unfortunate that one of Leyte’s town mayors could be one of those in Duterte’s list, referring to Albuera where the new mayor is Rolando Espinosa, the father of Kerwin Espinosa, who is tagged as Leyte’s top drug personality.  

Retired chief superintendent and newly elected Daanbantayan, Cebu Mayor Vicente Loot, one of five police generals that Duterte linked to the illegal drug trade, also named Kerwin in one of his interviews to clear his name.

Loot said Kerwin was arrested during his stint as deputy regional director and that he was dragged as a “protector” after Kerwin started buying fighting cocks from him, making it appear that the person was his underling.

Leyte Vice Gov. Carlo Loreto also backed Duterte’s impending move to name the mayors with alleged links to drugs. “If naming these mayors would help, if this would (stop) them from being protectors and beneficiaries, then it’s alright,” Loreto said.

“If they feel their human rights are violated, there is a legal recourse for that. The President has warned that change is coming,” he said.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said there is no meeting set so far between the President and local government officials. Medialdea said the President ran and won in the last May elections without support from a majority of these local officials.

Drug test for congressmen

Incoming House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said he was amenable to suggestions that congressmen undergo drug test amid reports that local officials, including town mayors, are involved in the illegal drug trade.

Neophyte Northern Samar Rep. Edwin Ong, meanwhile, challenged the National Democratic Front (NDF) to show proof that he and his uncle, Gov. Jose Ong are involved in drug trafficking.

Rep. Ong said he and his uncle are not involved in drug trafficking and this could be proven by their non-inclusion in the drug watchlists of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and even of the DILG.

He said the drug trafficking charges hurled against him and his uncle by the NDF were a rehashed issue. “This drug trafficking issue was hurled against us during the campaign period by a candidate, who is a member of the NDF that ran for governor against my uncle,” Rep. Ong said in a statement.

The congressman said he and his family have been engaged in the steel and food business in Samar provinces since 1950. He described the NDF’s accusation as “baseless, unfounded and simply meant to destroy our good name and unblemished reputation in the province.”

Rep. Ong reiterated that he is supporting the intensified anti-drug campaign of  Duterte. “My family has been doing business long before we decided to enter politics,” he said.

He and his uncle would cooperate in any investigation on their alleged link to drug trafficking, Ong said, because “it would serve as a venue for us to clear our names on the allegations hurled against us by the NDF.”

“We are confident that truth shall prevail in the end,” he said.

In Malacañang, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar would not blame the previous administration for the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country that was said to be benefiting several local executives and police officials.

Andanar said it would be up to the officials of the Aquino administration to respond to allegations that they failed to curb the sale and distribution of illegal drugs.

Pressed whether he thinks the previous officials neglected the problem or protected drug lords, Andanar replied: “Well, you have to decide for yourselves what happened… Hindi naman natin ugali ang manisi (We do not resort to finger-pointing).”

Last week, Duterte accused five retired and active police officers of protecting drug lords, making good his promise to shame those whom he believes are involved in the illegal activity.

Accused of having links with drug lords were Loot, retired deputy director general Marcelo Garbo Jr., former National Capital Region Police Office head and now Director Joel Pagdilao, former Quezon City Police District director Chief Supt. Edgardo Tinio, and Western Visayas regional director Chief Supt. Bernardo Diaz.

In a related development, Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe disclosed suspected drug users and pushers were turning themselves in to barangay officials to avoid getting killed.

“That is what is happening now in the communities. These addicts go to their respective barangay captains to have their names enlisted,” Batocabe said.

The problem, however, is that the government does not have enough infrastructure to address the problem of overcrowding in state-run rehabilitation centers, which is very limited in number to begin with.

 “What do we do with them afterwards? They might go back to their old ways,” he said.

 Batocabe has proposed the establishment of rehabilitation centers and crematoriums in every congressional district – in line with Duterte’s strong campaign against illegal drugs.

 Valenzuela City Rep. Wes Gatchalian agreed, proposing more drug rehabilitation centers all over the country in the wake of hundreds, if not thousands of drug dependents who have surrendered to authorities.

 The congressman lauded the unequivocal campaign of Duterte against the proliferation of drugs, but at the same time urged him to ensure the full implementation of Republic Act 9165 where the state is mandated to build rehabilitation centers.

 The law compels the national government to set up government-operated regional and provincial treatment and rehabilitation centers.

 In Gatchalian’s district alone, a total of 220 drug users and pushers have surrendered so far. – With Non Alquitran, Alexis Romero, Delon Porcalla, Edith Regalado