CANDIDATES whose names appear on the controversial narco-list that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) plans to release next week are advised to withdraw their candidacies, said Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak.
Tumulak, who also serves as deputy mayor for police matters, said that those mentioned by the DILG's narco-list should be charged and be given a day in court.
But for his colleague, Cebu City councilor Joel Garganera, the DILG should charge those named in the narco-list first before their identities are disclosed to the public.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año earlier said that the narco-list they plan to release next week contains the names of 82 incumbent officials, 64 of which are running for reelection this May.
Some sectors are worried that once the National Government releases the narco-list, this could be used for political purposes. One of those concerned about this is Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (Cpadao) Chief Ivy Remedios Durano-Meca.
"If they have the names already long before they ran, which has been validated, they should not have waited for the election period," Meca said in an interview Wednesday, March 6.
Año clarified that they are releasing the list to guide voters in choosing whom to vote for this May.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, for his part, said revealing the names of narco-politicians would prevent voters from choosing candidates who are proven to be "destroyers of society" because of their drug involvement in the May 13 elections.
But for Meca, if those involved in the illegal drug trade have been apprehended earlier, that would have already been a clear warning for voters not to elect narco-politicians.
"If this so-called narco-list has really been validated, and these politicians are really involved, this should have been acted upon prior (to the elections). Mura man gud siya og ma-politicize. Why do we have to wait for voters to vote if na-operatan na ni siya before, di na unta mabotaran kay nahibawan na (It appears politicized. If an operation was conducted against them before, people will not vote for them anymore)," she added.
Meca lamented that politicians should not be singled out, as there are also officials from other government agencies that have been tagged in the illegal drug trade.
"I'm not talking about unfair in the sense that they are being identified. But it is unfair that they are singling out the politicians. How about those that are in other agencies that are involved who are high ranking officials?" Meca said.
Tumulak said that even if the politician in the narco-list is already in the official ballot, he or she still has the opportunity to withdraw "out of delicadeza."
He also agrees with the proposal of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to charge those named in the narco-list so they will have the opportunity to answer the allegations against them.
In a related development, Meca stressed that none of the four Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials that tested positive for illegal drugs came from the 245 drug-cleared barangays in the province.
The separate initial screenings conducted by the Cpadao from February to March 4, revealed that an SK chairperson from Danao City and another SK chairperson from the southern town of Oslob yielded positive results.
An SK councilor and two barangay tanods from Danao City, an SK councilor from Carmen town and two job-order municipal employees from Sogod also tested positive for illegal drug use.
"Fortunately, those four SK officials that turned out positive wherein some of them really admitted to using illegal drugs, none of them were part of the drug-cleared barangays," Meca said.
Some 245 out of 1,066 barangays in the province were declared drug-free last year.
But 45 or nearly 25 percent of these drug-cleared barangays risk losing their status for failing to sustain their parameters.
SunStar Cebu tried to reach Cebu Province SK Federation President Jerico Rubio for comment, but he was not available as of press time. (From PAC of Superbalita/JKV/RTF)