MANILA — With the upcoming barangay elections just three weeks away, a lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Tuesday called on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to disclose the names of barangay (village) officials who are on the government’s drug watch list.
Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao said it is high time for PDEA to reveal the list and the reasons those barangay officials are on that list to inform the public and give the officials allegedly involved a fair chance to respond to the allegations.
“Nasaan na ang listahan ng mga umano’y 289 na barangay officials na sangkot sa illegal drugs? (Where is the list of barangay officials linked to illegal drugs?) If the PDEA does have such a list, then now is the time to disclose that list,” Siao said.
“Now is not the time for PDEA to lose credibility over this matter. What is PDEA waiting for? Reveal the list as it is now,” he added.
Siao was pertaining to reports that there are 289 barangay officials in the “narco-list” of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
He also quoted PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino as claiming that out of the 24,424 drug-affected barangays, 15,290 were classified as “slightly affected,” 9,089 were “moderately affected,” while 45 barangays were “seriously affected.”
“The shortest list is that of the 45 barangays ‘seriously affected’. That is one list the people can easily understand because it is not too long. Where is that list? Reveal that also,” Siao said. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
