THE chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs on Wednesday urged Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to divulge the identity of two lawmakers whom he said were on the “narco-list” of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said that if the list was indeed validated, then Alvarez should name names so that appropriate charges will be filed against them.
Barbers also said the Speaker should name the two congressmen so that the House can take the necessary disciplinary actions against them based on its own rules.
Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza also urged both Duterte and Alvarez to come out openly and state publicly the names of the two alleged narco-politicians.
“They should be fair to all the institution, the members of Congress and even those mentioned so they can defend themselves, too,” Atienza said.
But Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles said he sees no reason for Alvarez or even the President to name those public officials in the drug list with the absence of solid evidence and appropriate charges that should have been filed against them.
“There is no reason for the President to disclose the names prematurely; otherwise, it may disrupt any investigation being conducted. Should a complaint-affidavit be filed in the proper forum the names will be disclosed anyway. So let us just wait for it,” Nograles said.
Alvarez said Tuesday two congressmen are among the public officials included in President Rodrigo Duterte’s “narco-list.”
In a news conference, Alvarez said he is convinced that one of them, an unnamed lawmaker from Mindanao, was acting as a protector of the illegal drug trade.
“The list given to me was validated; which means it passed through several government agencies for validation. But on my part, I am still double checking it,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez declined to name the two lawmakers, however, and said he would speak to them first.
Others on the list are governors, mayors, judges and prosecutors, he said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, meanwhile, said it is conducting its own investigation of its personnel who allegedly received protection money from a top drug supplier in Negros province.
Director General Isidro Lapeña has tasked the agency’s internal affairs service to undertake a parallel investigation on five agency personnel who have been accused of receiving pay-offs.
“In a sworn affidavit of a suspected member of a drug group, five PDEA personnel were allegedly receiving payola of P20,000 a week in the Negros Island Region. I have ordered an expeditious investigation to determine if there is any truth to the veracity of the statement,” he said.
He warned that heads will roll, and vowed that there will be no cover-up.
Appropriate charges will be filed against erring PDEA agents, he said.
“Let the ax fall where it may. PDEA is not in the business of covering up misdemeanors of its personnel. Anyone who is facing cases due to the performance of his or her duties, the agency will act to support and defend them, but if they violate the anti-drug laws and commit misdemeanors, we will act to prosecute them to the fullest,” he added.
