Palace: Building cases vs 'narco-politicians' takes time; list may be out next week
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 12:06 p.m.) — The government is still building cases against politicians allegedly involved in illegal drugs but a list of their names may be made public by next week.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, in an interview on ANC’s “Early Edition” on Tuesday, explained that building cases and filing complaints take time but people should be informed about who may be involved in drugs even if government cannot officially accuse them of it yet.
“There are cases which cannot be filed outright. You need certain documents...documentary as well as testimonial [evidence],” Panelo, who is also chief presidential legal adviser, said.
READ: Palace firm on release of narco list
“Meanwhile, you cannot let the people wait to be informed on who are involved there. As we far as we are concerned, we will not allow people involved in drugs to govern the respective municipalities and barangay,” he also said.
Binay: List may be used to discredit bets
In a statement on Tuesday morning, re-electionist Sen. Nancy Binay cautioned against the release of the so-called list, saying it could be used to discredit candidates.
"They say it is meant to guide voters, but what if the contents of the list are not verified," Binay said in Filipino. She said the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency "to immediately file complaints against these 'narco-politicians' if they are sure of the information in their list."
She also urged the DILG and PDEA to be careful in validating and vetting their supposed list. "Are we sure that the validation and vetting process for the list is foolproof? Is the intelligence regarding the involvement of these politicians 'A-1' and not just rumor and innuendo?"
She warned that if authorities are not "100-percent sure", the government's campaign against illegal drugs will become a joke.
Binay added: "And what recourse will people on the list have if, in the end, it is proven they are innocent? Can the government give back their ruined reputation? Would an apology be enough?" she said.
In the runup to the 2016 presidential elections, the senator's father—then Vice President Jejomar Binay—and brother former Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay were accused of irregularities in the construction of government buildings in the city.
The allegations, which the Binay family has insisted were politically motivated and were meant to derail the vice president's presidential campaign, led to cases now pending at the Sandiganbayan.
Panelo: Government will file cases
Panelo said that he spoke with Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on Monday night and was assured that administration and criminal complaints would be filed against the alleged narco-politicians.
He also invoked the people’s right to information for releasing the list ahead of elections.
“The voters and the public have the right to know who are these destroyers of our society,” the Palace spokesman added.
The Commission on Human Rights cautioned against the move of the Malacañang, as it stressed that the Constitution enshrines every individual’s right to presumption of innocence.
But Panelo, a lawyer, said that he believes those allegedly involved in drugs have “waived the right” to presumption of innocence.
“Because they know they are involved there. They run for public office and it’s fair game. You open yourself to criticism as well as exposure of your involvement to anything illegal,” he also said. He did not cite his legal basis for the remark.
This is not the first time that the Duterte government is releasing a list of politicians allegedly linked to drugs.
In April 2018, the government released a list of more than 200 barangay officials allegedly involved in drugs. The release was timed for the barangay elections.
READ: 207 village officials on PDEA ‘narco-list’ amid fears of becoming death squad targets
The PDEA maintained then that it had validated the list alongside the Philippine National Police, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino noted that “some of the officials in the list are users, some are pushers, some are even drug lords but most are protectors.”
The filing of cases against the individuals on the list should be expected in a “week or two,” he said then.
Errors were also seen in a "drug matrix" released in 2016. Duterte admitted that there was negligence in counter-checking reports and apologized to former Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr., provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and board member Raul Sison, three of the local officials included in the supposed list.
READ: Duterte sorry for wrongly tagging officials in ‘drug matrix’
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