AROUND 40 barangay officials, majority of whom have already filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs), are being monitored by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 for their alleged involvement in illegal drug activities.
However, PDEA 7 Director Emerson Margate said that they won’t reveal their identifies without an order from President Rodrigo Duterte.
“To the constituents of these officials who already know that these politicians engage in illegal drugs, it’s better if they won’t cast their votes on them. If their trademark is illegal drugs then it’s better not to vote for them... They know who among those running in the barangay elections are involved in illegal drugs because the names on the list came from reports from the barangays themselves,” Margate said.
He said that 20 of the official are in Cebu Province while the rest are spread out in Central Visayas.
These politicians, the PDEA-7 director said, also engage in vote-buying.
“They will use their funds from illegal drugs in the elections so that if they win, they can continue to amass wealth through their power and authority,” he said.
Margate said that they will ask for a copy of officials who already filed their COCs so the agency can check who among them are linked to illegal drugs.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) also discouraged the public from voting for narcopoliticians.
Atty. Veronico Petalcorin, Comelec 7 director, said that it’s up to the PDEA and the police to reveal the names on the narcolist.
“We don’t have guidelines so we don’t know how to address the matter. Being on a narcolist is not grounds for disqualification. But if they file a case against the officials and the officials are found guilty, then that is grounds for disqualificaiton,” he said in Cebuano.
“But why wait for the ‘narcolist’ when the voters know officials in their barangays who are involved in the illegal drug trade. If that’s the case, why still vote for that person,” Petalcorin said.
In a related development, Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak said he respects the move of PEDEA 7 not to name barangay officials who are allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
However, if he had his way, it would be better to release their names to allow them to explain their side.
He also said that voters should be wise in choosing candidates in next month’s elections.
“We urged the voters that if they have observed that a certain candidates has a participation in illegal drugs, do not vote for that candidate and the voters should not be afraid because they are the only ones who will know who they voted,” he said.
Tumulak said he recently received reports that two barangay officials who are candidates for next month’s elections are receiving donations from drug pushers.
The councilor said he will talk to them to verify the report since the two have been active in helping police with the campaign against illegal drugs.