THE government's narco-list, which contains the names of individuals suspected of involvement in the illegal drugs trade, is "not a kill list," Malacañang said on Thursday, July 5.
Speaking to Palace reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. vehemently denied speculations that those on the narco-list would be killed.
"No, [the narco-list is not a kill list] because there's no mandate to kill them," Roque said.
"It (Listing the names of drug personalities) is part of law enforcement. These are individuals whom law enforcement agencies must closely monitor. If there's sufficient evidence, they should be charged. If there's insufficient evidence, then they should lead to case build-up," he added.
Roque made the comment following the killing of Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan City, Batangas. The mayor, known for his "walk of shame" program to parade drug suspects around his city, was on the list of narco-politicians.
Halili was shot dead during the flag-raising ceremony at the Tanauan City Hall in Batangas province on July 2.
In a speech on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte floated the possibility that Halili was killed because of the local official's supposed links to illegal drugs.
A day after Halili's murder, Mayor Ferdinand Bote of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija was killed in an ambush in Cabanatuan City. Bote, an ally of the Duterte adminsitration, was not on the narco-list.
The opposition has blamed Duterte for the successive high-profile killings, saying the President himself encouraged a culture of impunity.
Roque said it was "unfounded" to claim that the government may have been behind Halili's death, merely because the mayor was identified as among the public officials connected with narcotics trade.
"That's a speculation. Unfounded," the Palace official said.
"Apparently, iba't ibang aspeto ngayon ang lumalabas sa pag-imbestiga kay Halili at meron pa ring aspeto na it's still borne out of the drug trade. That's one of the angles they're looking at, although meron pang dalawang anggulo -- pulitika at negosyo."
(Apparently, there are different aspects now emerging with regard to the investigation into Halili's death. And there's an aspect that it's still borne out of the drug trade. That's one of the angles they're looking at, although there are also two angles beign floated -- politics and business.)
Amid the deaths of the local executives, representatives of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) met with Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año to raise their concerns.
Roque said local officials expressed alarm over the government's vetting process for the creation of the narco-list.
He said they also sought participation in the vetting process to ensure that innocent individuals are not included in the list.
"Ang gusto lang mangyari ng ULAP, magkaroon sila ng partisipasyon doon sa vetting bago mailagay ang pangalan ng isang locally elected official dahil sabi nila may mga political reasons din why some would want some names to appear," he said.
(What ULAP wants to happen is they be given the participation in the vetting process before including the name of a locallu elected official [in the narco-list] because they said, there are political reasons why some would want some names to appear.)
"And they also want a roll kung merong pangalan na pinapaalis sa narco-list. Wala namang commitment na naibigay pero of course, this is being considered by both the DILG and the PNP," he added.
(And they also want a roll if there are names being removed in the narco-list. There is no commitment yet but of course, this is being considered by both the DILG and the PNP.) (SunStar Philippines)