Unverified ‘narco list’, murders sow fear among local execs

The still unverified “narco list” of the Duterte administration and the recent murders of the Tanuan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili and Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote continue to instill fear among local officials.

This was according to Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, himself named in the so-called Duterte narco list, who emphasized Thursday that thorough validation must first be made by the government before making sweeping allegations that endanger the lives of local officials.

“Kami ay nababahala. Sino bang hindi mababahala? Lalo na ngayon meron po talagang mga pangyayari (at) merong drug list na hindi pa naman validated. Sinasabi kay Pangulo (na) validated na, eh hindi pa po,” said Pamintuan, president of the League of Cities in the Philippines (LCP), in a radio interview.

(We are worried. Who will not be worried? Especially now that there are really incidents [and] that there is a drug list that is not yet validated. They tell the President it is validated, but it is not.)

“Kailangan talaga bago maghayag ng ganyan, linisin muna, at kung pwede kung wala ka pa namang katibayan, ‘wag munang ilabas,” he added.

(Before releasing that [list] they should really fix it first, and if possible, if they don’t have proof yet, hold its release [to the public] first.)

Pamintuan’s name was among those initially included in the government’s narco list. He was later cleared by the regional peace and order council of Pampanga.

However, he said, some regional councils tasked to validate the narcolist have not presented an updated copy of the list yet.

“Eight months na ‘yan kaya kawawa ang mga mayor. Pati governor na hindi naman sangkot (sa drug trade), nailagay dyan sa listahan,” Pamintuan said.

(It’s been eight months that’s why the mayors are pitiful. Even governors who are not involved [in the drug trade] were included in the list.)

He also disclosed that some local officers spoke with Special Assistant to the President Bong Go in Malacañang on Wednesday in the hope that concerns on their safety will reach President Rodrigo Duterte.