By Ellson Quismorio
A Mindanao lawmaker yesterday wondered aloud what happened to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) supposed plan to bare a list of nearly 300 barangay officials whom they claimed had links to the illegal drug trade.
“Nasaan na ang listahan ng mga umano’y 289 na barangay officials na sangkot illegal drugs?” asked Iligan Rep. Frederick Siao.
“Was that just a ploy, a slip of the tongue, a misquote, or a PR (public relations) stunt? If the PDEA does have such a list, then now is the time to fully disclose that list,” he added.
Siao, a member of the House Suffrage and Electoral Reforms Committee, said that the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections are just three weeks away.
The village and youth polls were originally scheduled to take place in October 2016, but Congress legislated in favor of postponing them twice because of the supposed grip of illegal drugs on local executives.
President Dutertehas repeatedly said that up to 40 percent of all barangay officials in the country were involved with the narcotics business. Duterte won the presidency on the promise to eradicate the drug menace.
The House of Representatives sought to defer the synchronized polls for a third time, even passing a bill on third and final reading last March. However, the Senate failed to act on it, thus paving the way for the polls on May 14.
