THE President announced in November 2016 that there were about 5,000 elected government officials tagged as narco-politicians. He promised to furnish a copy to every lawmaker in aid of legislation to protect the next generation.
What does narco-politician mean? It is a politician who runs not to serve the public but to protect their drug business obviously to rake in and amass wealth. Normally they use drug money to influence or manipulate the elections or selection of government officials.
Barely a year from the president’s announcement, mayor Aniceto Lopez Jr. of Maasim, Sarangani, yielded his shabu mini-laboratory amounting to P5 million. According to Pdea, Lopez is among the leaders of El Patron drug group operating in the region and has a link to the Parojinogs, supporting the terrorist group financially.
Two years later, the long list of names surged to over 10,000 including the 96 newly-validated input from the Pdea composed of congressmen, governors and down to the barangay level who were involved in drug business.
With the depth and breadth of narco-politics in the country, no doubt we are facing a clear and present danger. But the Comelec cannot simply disqualify a person from filing his or her candidacy just because the person is in the president and Pdea’s target lists.
Had the Congress not been in narcolepsy (excessive daytime sleepiness) it should have passed a bill, being the most powerful mammal to prescribe additional qualifications and disqualifications, adding to the existing criteria like, a (1) Filipino citizen; (2) able to read and write; (3) resident of the Philippines; (4) aged at least 23 for governor down to Sangguniang Bayan/Panglungsod, 25 for representative and 35 for senator.
Even if drug-related killings sweeping across the country is incessant, the underworld still cannot annihilate all narco-politicians in all levels before November 29, the deadline for substitution of candidates who withdrew, died, or were disqualified by final judgment. But narcolepsy in the current Congress surely ends on May 13, 2019.