93 elected gov’t officials in new narco list: PDEA

June 5, 2018

Around 93 elected government officials are in another narco list by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

PDEA director general Aaron Aquino said Tuesday the list contained the names of at least 67 mayors, and a few congressmen, vice mayors and vice governors.

Majority are incumbent officials, said Aquino. He said most are in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Northern Mindanao regions.

“Most of them are coddlers and protectors. Some are users,” Aquino said in a news conference Tuesday.

“In fact, I don't want to see who are the people involved,” he told reporters in an ambush interview.

Aquino is waiting instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte whether to release the list in public.

The PDEA chief said some officials in the list had visited him at his office in Quezon City to clear their names.

“They are welcome here in PDEA. The others have done it already ,” said Aquino.

Earlier, PDEA revealed the names of 207 barangay officials with suspected links to illegal drugs around two weeks before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. DMS