PDEA names 207 barangay execs on narco list

MANILA, Philippines — Two weeks ahead of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) released yesterday the names of 207 candidates allegedly linked to illegal drugs – supposedly to help voters pick the right bets.

PDEA director general Aaron Aquino  said the reason for releasing the list has been explained.

“There is no truth that this will serve as a hit list. It would not,” he stressed.

Aquino said the government is not involved in extrajudicial killings so there should be no concern regarding the narco list becoming a hit list.

“Even before this press conference, many in the drug list had died. We can’t do anything about it and it is beyond our control. What we can do is to put things in order, a procedure that would help us in filing cases against them,” Department of the Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año said.

The list includes 90 barangay captains and 117 barangay kagawad or councilors.

Aquino said PDEA validated the list together with the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

“Some barangay officials are users, some are pushers. Some are even the level of a drug lord. But most of them are protectors,” he said at a press briefing.

There were originally 293 names in the narco-list but many had died or are now under detention.

The narco-list would be posted at local government offices from the city and municipal level down to the barangay.

The DILG chief said the government is willing to help secure barangay officials in the drug list who feel that their lives are in danger, only if they can prove their innocence.

“If they feel that they are in danger, come to us and open up. We will do something to help you,” Año added.

The PNP has been directed to evaluate their explanation “to prove their worth.”

The Bicol region has the most number of barangay officials in the list with 70, followed by Caraga with 32 officials and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with 13.

There are 12 barangay officials in the National Capital Region (NCR) included in the list.

The cases against those in the list will vary “depending on the complicity of the barangay officials,” PDEA public information officer Derrick Arnold Carreon told The STAR.

“There are those who will be charged for being protectors or for coddling drug personalities, and there are those who will be charged as accessories of big time drug pushers,” he said, referring to Barangay Tinajeros chairman Alvin Mañalac, in whose jurisdiction a drug laboratory was raided.

Aquino said making the narco-list public was a “direct order” from President Duterte and “he didn’t have any option but to release it.”

He added that he is ready to face legal actions that may arise from the release of the list.

“I don’t care about legal actions. I expected that, and my legal team will deal with it,” Aquino said. He said any cases against erring officials should be airtight.

He added it’s up to the Comelec to decide on how to deal with candidates in the narco-list as the poll body has its own rules and procedures to follow.

No instant disqualification

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they will not stop candidates in the so-called narco-list from running.

“Having your name on that list will not have an effect on what the Comelec does,” Jimenez said, referring to the list of drug offenders prepared by PDEA.

“Disqualification only comes from a final judgment against the person. Being on the drug list will not disqualify a person from running,” he added.

But Jimenez said inclusion in the narco-list can affect a candidate’s chances of winning in the elections.

“The list is more of a tool for voters to be educated. If you know that a certain candidate has a problem, will you vote for him/her?” Jimenez said.

Meanwhile, Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Supt. Joel Napoleon Coronel said there is case buildup against erring barangay officials in his area.

Four barangay chairmen and two councilors have been tagged as drug protectors in Manila.

PDEA included Barangay 314, Zone 31 chairman Aileen Guidolong and kagawad Guia Guibone, Barangay 255 chairman Arnel Dungo, Barangay 199 chairman Marcelino Ortega, Barangay 384 chairman Sharief Abubakar and Barangay 780 kagawad Maricel Padpad in the validated narco-list.

Coronel said he had thought the number of flagged barangay officials was higher “considering that we have the most number of barangays in Metro Manila.” He said there are 869 barangays in the six districts of Manila. – Mayen Jaymalin, Rey Galupo, Marc Jayson Cayabyab