Isko Moreno eyes navy man as defense chief

MANILA, Philippines — If elected president, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso vowed to appoint a navy official as his defense secretary to better secure the country’s maritime borders, particularly against the entry of illegal drugs.

“For the first time in history, I’ll appoint someone from the Navy as secretary of national defense. Why? Because we are an archipelagic country,” Moreno said in the portion of his recent interview with television host Boy Abunda, when asked about addressing the illegal drugs problem.

Asked if he would continue the war on drugs, Moreno told Abunda that President Duterte’s campaign succeeded in shutting down shabu laboratories and wiping out drug pushers from the streets, but might have failed in protecting maritime borders against drug shipments.

“Before, drug manufacturing labs were caught in posh subdivisions. They’re all gone. But I found out that illegal drugs now arrive in bulk,” Moreno said in Filipino. “So, there must be something wrong with our borders.”

The Aksyon Demokratiko party standard-bearer said it is “high time to address our boundaries, our entries” and that is why he wants a Philippine Navy official to head the Department of National Defense.

In continuing the war on drugs, Moreno did not commit to a completely bloodless crackdown since armed encounters may be inevitable, but cited how Manila’s efficient arrest of drug suspects kept them alive.

“Ninety-seven percent (of the time) we caught them alive in Manila,” he said, noting that since he grew up in the slums of Tondo and knew these criminals, “sometimes, I teach police how to conduct the arrest” successfully.

The mayor pledged that in his version of the war on drugs, there would be no extra-judicial killing (EJK).

The Duterte administration has been accused of EJKs in its war on drugs, attracting the attention of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is set to probe thousands of deaths as crimes against humanity.

Moreno said he would “welcome” ICC investigators in the country, telling Abunda that there was nothing to hide or be afraid of.

During Jessica Soho’s presidential interviews on GMA-7, Moreno had raised a placard saying “no” when asked if he would allow the ICC to prosecute Duterte.