CEBU CITY — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) will definitely be filing charges against the more than 20 barangay officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs in the region.
Regional Drug Enforcement Director Emerson Margate said in a press conference on Thursday these village officials recently ran for reelection in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls last Monday.
“Whether these people have lost or won in the elections, we will definitely be filing cases against them,” Margate said. “We are just waiting for the results of the review of our legal division in Manila. As early as January, we submitted reports against these people.”
Margate said the PDEA Legal Division is currently comparing notes with the Department of Interior and Local Government in preparation for the filing of fool-proof cases against the barangay officials.
Last month, the PDEA-7 coordinated with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and confirmed that more than 20 barangay officials with alleged links to illegal drugs have filed their certificates of candidacy.
“If before, we asked the Comelec for the complete list of candidates, now we will be asking for the final list of winners and find out who among these people have won in the election,” Margate said.
The PDEA-7 chief said these village officials have no direct involvement in illegal drug activities but are or have been allegedly receiving protection money from drug pushers in their respective barangays.
Margate, however, said they cannot reveal the names of these officials pending the filing of proper charges against them.
“We will immediately file the cases once we receive the go signal from the PDEA Central Office,” Margate said. (PNA)
