Two senators yesterday warned the Department of Interior and Local Government against releasing the list of supposed narco-politicians before the start of the campaign period for local candidates on March 30.
Sen. Richard J. Gordon said the DILG would place itself in hot water should it publicize its narco-list anew. “If they release, they are liable for libel,” Gordon, a lawyer, said.
While noting that he understands the administration’s eagerness to crack down on narco-politicians, Gordon believes that the agency should rather file charges against the officials if they have evidence proving their involvement in illegal drugs.
Since it has authority over local government officials, the DILG, he added, could declare narco-politicians as “notoriously undesirable” to suspend or bar them from holding public office.
He said the announcement will only help those who have linked to drugs to lay low or even dismiss the claim as politicking.
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson maintained that the narcolist should be used only for intelligence gathering and not to sway the voting public. Like Gordon, he said the DILG should instead file cases against narco-politicians.
“Until backed by evidence, a narco-list remains unvalidated and should be used only for intelligence purposes in order to assist law enforcement in pursuing their case buildup with the end in view of filing appropriate criminal charges against those in the list,” Lacson said.
“Making it public is unjust and unfair to those who may be delisted later, worse after the May elections. This has happened before and it could happen again,” Lacson said. (Vanne Terrazola)