Best to follow legal processes in drugs drive

WE can understand the desire of some administration officials to publish the list of local officials believed to be involved in drug operations. The drug problem of this country is of such magnitude that all possible means must be taken to solve it and raise the Philippines from the depths to which drug lords have pushed it.

But there are still laws we have to fol­low in the effort to fight the drug menace. There are procedures and processes that must be carried out as part of the overall system of due process in our government. Thus, if an official – or any ordinary citizen – is found to be involved in the drug trade, he must be duly investigated and charged if the investigation establishes a case that can stand in court.

The Department of Interior and Local Government led by Secretary Eduardo Año has announced that it will soon make pub­lic a list of local officials – mayors and vice mayors, governors and vice governors, and congressmen – allegedly involved in drugs. The government has long said there is such a list of “narco-politicians” but it has never been released.

Now, it is proposed that the list be released as many of those in the list are reported run­ning for reelection in the coming midterm polls. It would be a worthy reason – keeping narco-politicians out of office and power.

But there are legal processes that must be followed, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon said. They must first be charged before prosecutors, who would then investigate the charges before filing them in court.

The DILG plan is to simply release the list, evidently with the goal of getting vot­ers to reject the listed politicians. If the list is thus released without charges first be­ing filed, Senators Lacson and Gordon said, the DILG officials would be open to being charged with libel.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has also come out to urge the govern­ment to file the appropriate charges, so the Comelec can take action, such as perhaps disqualifying candidates in the list. Without this official action of filing charges, Com­missioner Rowena Guanzon said, the poll body might just ignore the list. And in the ensuing election campaign, there could be violence as the unproven and unfiled nar­cotics charges would surely divide and in­flame the voters.

According to the Philippine Drug Enforce­ment Agency (PDEA), there are 83 politi­cians in the list, with six recommended for delisting if approved by President Duterte. Until each case is verified so that a crimi­nal case can be filed, Senator Lacson said, the list remains unvalidated and should be used only for intelligence purposes.

It would really be best to stay strictly in line with the law on this matter. File the cases first and avoid being accused of politicking. Follow the due process in the overall nation­wide campaign against the drug menace.