3 EX-BRGY CHIEFS IN PDEA NARCO LIST
‘Airtight’ cases being built vs Durano, Bas and Cabaron
The names of three former village chiefs in Cebu are among the 207 barangay officials accused of being “involved in illegal drug activities.”
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is building up “airtight” cases against those in the “narco list” that included Ramonette Durano, Marc Ferdinand Bas and Bibiano Cabaron.
In the list, Durano was identified as a former village chief of Suba who is now the public information officer of Danao City in northern Cebu.
Cabaron, on the other hand, was former village chief of Palanas in Ronda town who is now serving as municipal councilor.
Bas was a former barangay captain of Lagtang in Talisay City, southern Cebu.
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino, who released the names on Monday, appealed to the “people in the barangays to give us more information and evidence…so we can level up our case build-up.”
When reached by phone, Cabaron was shocked that his name was included and suspected that it might be the handiwork of his political enemies.
“Gikan sa akong pagkabata, wala ko kakita unsay hitsura og shabu. Unya natingala lang ko nga naapil ko diri (Since I was young, I had never seen what shabu looked like. I am wondering now why I am included in the list),” said Cabaron, who served as Palanas barangay captain from 2010 to 2016.
He said he was ready to undergo investigation to prove his innocence.
Bas, on the other hand, was arrested by Talisay City Police in April 2017 for alleged illegal possession of firearms and explosive.
At that time, then Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Chief Eric Noble linked Bas to the drug network of self-confessed drug lord Franz Sabalones.
Cebu Daily News tried to reach Durano but sources said she was already based in the United States.
In a statement sent to CDN on Monday night, Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano IV of 5th district said there was no Ramonette Durano who served as information officer of Danao city government as alleged in the list released by PDEA.
He added the records from Commission on Elections (Comelec), police and the Department of Interior of Local Government showed Ramonette Durano from Suba does not exist.
“As a matter of clarification, the name does not appear in the barangay drug-list, the address is erroneously written and its unwarranted appearance on the national list is suspect,” he said.
But Red said there was a Ramonette Cynthia D. Mahinay who was information officer of Danao and was barangay captain until October 2013.
The statement, however, didn’t say Mahinay’s middle name and if she was related to the Duranos, a political clan that has lorded over Cebu’s 5th district with Danao as their base.
Red said Mahinay had showed “valuable contribution to the campaign against illegal drug activities in the city” while serving in those two positions.
If indeed she was involved in illegal drugs, Red said Mahinay would have been arrested especially at the peak of the anti-drug war.
Her name didn’t also crop up in the local drug watchlist, raising a question as to where her name appeared.
“I, for one, hope for clarification, and I do believe the people of Danao, too,” said Red.
“I am confident that Ramonette can prove her innocence, and I believe she deserves to be accorded her constitutional guarantee to presumption of innocence,” he added.
Red also pointed out that Barangay Suba, too, is active in the anti-drug efforts and its incumbent village chair was a BADAC (Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council) Awardee in 2016.
His aunt, Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale said she was shocked by the inclusion of Ramonette Durano in the narco list.
“I am saddened because I know her personally. Parang dili ko katoo ba (I cannot believe the report),” she said.
Magpale said she knew Ramonette as a businesswoman who owned a lotto outlet.
“We cannot do anything. The list is out. All I can say is that I am saddened that there are Cebuanos on the list,” Magpale said.
Board Member Celestino Martinez III, who is also president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) – Cebu Federation, urged PDEA to file a case against these village officials who were linked to the illegal drug trade.
“I believe that they have enough evidence, enough basis to name these individuals to come up with a case against them,” he said.
In a press conference at the PDEA central office in Quezon City, Aquino said the list which included 90 barangay captains and 117 barangay councilors will be used as the basis for filing criminal and administrative cases in the Ombudsman and in local courts in the coming weeks.
He maintained that their list was a combination of “validated” watchlists from the PDEA, Philippine National Police, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, collated since the Duterte administration took over in 2016.
“Some barangay officials are [narcotics] users, pushers, even [going up to] the level of drug lords. But most of them are protectors,” Aquino said.
The disclosure of the names, two weeks before barangay elections, was a direct order from President Duterte himself, Aquino said.
“I don’t have any options. The President gave me an order to release it. But before releasing, we parsed through the data.”
“Public office is a public trust. Every resident has a right to know what their public official is doing. Officials are always accountable to the people, so it’s only fair that people should know who they will be electing,” Aquino said, to explain why the law enforcement agencies were releasing the list ahead of the elections and without even having filed cases in court yet.
Aquino blamed “the involvement of barangay leaders” in the resurgence of illegal drugs in barangays.
“As of December 2017, we have cleared of illegal drugs 5,077 barangays. But more than half of those cleared before, or 2,277, reverted back to drug-affected barangays….Instead of decreasing, it keeps increasing. If you’re wondering why, this list is why.”
Aquino said “case buildup” was ongoing for the filing of “airtight” court cases against the barangay officials on the “narcolist.”
The “narcolist” had also yet to be officially rolled down to the local offices of the law enforcement agencies for posting and publication in their respective areas, and furnished to the Comelec in a request for disqualification of candidates in the upcoming May 14 elections.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said these will be done by the campaign period of May 4 to 12.
The original “narcolist” actually included 86 more names for a total of 293—133 barangay captains, 160 barangay councilors.
But over the past two years, 46 had already been arrested, 30 “assassinated” by as yet unknown gunmen, five killed in police operations, and five already died due to natural causes, said Aquino.
Responding to concerns that such watchlists precisely tended to be “hitlists” in which named individuals ended up dead either at the hands of vigilantes or in police operations, Aquino maintained: “There’s no truth to that.”
“Let me be clear: there will be no [extrajudicial killings]. This will not serve as a hitlist,” Aquino said.
“The PNP can make the assurance to the public that these people should also be given protection, that nobody will harm them.”
The same assurance was given by Chief Supt. Robert Quenery, police director for Central Visayas.
Quenery said that revealing the names on the narco list was only meant to guide voters when casting their votes during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections next month.
“I look at the lists as a way to inform to the public so that they will know who are the aspiring candidates seeking for barangay positions,” Quinery said. /With Glazelle Bless Viter PIT – Intern and Jaymee T. Gamil of Inquirer
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