Quezon City barangay, SK candidates in narco list take drug test

MANILA, Philippines — A barangay councilor in Quezon City whose name is in the list of candidates allegedly linked to illegal drugs by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) yesterday submitted herself to a drug test to clear her name.

Noemi Agcaoli of Barangay Bagong Lipunan ng Crame is among the nearly 200 candidates for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections who went to the Quezon City Police District Station 7, which conducted drug tests.

The other candidates came from Barangays Horseshoe, Bagong Silangan, San Martin De Porres, Kaunlaran, Valencia, Socorro, San Roque and E. Rodriguez.

The QCPD held the testing to give candidates a chance to respond to the challenge of Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde for them to undergo drug tests.

Agcaoli, 53, is running for a third and last term as barangay councilor. “I went here so that I  can clear my name,” she told reporters.

Agcaoli, a mother of two, said among her options is to file a complaint against the PDEA for including her name in the narco list without any proof.

She said the only reason she could think of is that there are still illegal drug activities in their barangay, but wondered why only her name and not that of Barangay Bagong Lipunan ng Crame chairman Jose Antonio Talamayan Jr. was included.

Agcaoli said that as a member of the barangay drug abuse council, she convinced several drug suspects in their community to surrender.

She admitted that one of her nephews was a drug user but insisted she should not be labeled as a protector since he is in jail.