By: Mario B. Casayuran
Senate President Koko Pimentel yesterday dared barangay captains to prove to President Duterte that there is no truth to the report that up to 40 percent of them are involved in illegal drugs.
“If the report is wrong, then maybe there is no need to discuss appointments to replace barangay officials,” Pimentel said in his keynote speech at the Strategic Consultation and Workshop on Federalism, Barangay Reform, and Role of Barangays in National Security Concerns organized by the Liga ng mga Barangay.
Also, barangay chairpersons would have to prove to the President and anti-drug agencies like the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency that there is no truth to the report, he added.
“So that is I think a challenge…to each and every one of you,” Pimentel, the chief political ally of the President in the 24-member Senate, stressed.
“If the barangay is drug-infested, heavily drug-infested, our intelligence community would believe that the barangay leaders are involved in drugs…that is a reasonable conclusion,’’ he said.
