PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, April 13, repeated his stern warning to aspirants for village positions that they risk getting killed if authorities find out that they are involved in the narcotics trade.
Duterte, in an interview in Davao City, said the same policy against drug personalities would be applied to those who have links to illicit drugs sale and are interested to hold posts in the country's villages.
"Other Incumbent village captains, municipal mayors, and the city mayors get killed because they enter [the illegal trade of narcotics]," the President said upon his arrival from visit to Hong Kong.
"So this is why I can't guarantee, but [it's] just a warning to whoever want to run [for village positions], the same policy will apply to you. And the same strategy that I am adopting is good until the end of my term to the very last day," he added.
There is no stopping the village and youth council elections this coming May 14, after Congress failed to submit to Duterte a proposed measure that would further delay the conduct of the polls.
Duterte had postponed the twin polls twice, as he repeatedly claimed that 40 percent of village executives in the country are involved inillegal drugs trade.
On March 1, he threatened to kill those connected with narcotics trade who will win the local elections in May.
In his latest pronouncement, the President cautioned aspiring village officials that either their "life" or "liberty" would be put at stake, if they do not stop their involvement in the illegal drugs.
"My job is to see to it that there is no scale to use the danger of drugs. If possible, zero. To drug personalities, do not help me attain my objective at the expense of your lives, don't you?" he said.
"They do not know the game there. If I could reach my ambition of zero [drug proliferation], it could cost you your life or your liberty for that matter because the police and military will be active against you," Duterte added.
List of narco-village execs
Meanwhile, Duterte said he might consider releasing the names of village officials who are contributing to the exacerbating drug situation in the country.
The President, however, said he had to delay making a decision, as it could affect the electorates' freedom to choose their leaders.
"I’ll give it a thought. I’ll sleep on it maybe sometime," he said, when asked on whether he is bent on disclosing the names of village executives who are also known to be drug offenders.
"I have to make sure that it does not affect the freedom of the people to elect their own leaders because this is democracy. So I have to think about this crucial issue." (SunStar Philippines)