Two senators urged the government to just file criminal charges against politicians allegedly linked to the illegal drug trade instead of releasing the narco list ahead of the midterm elections in May.
Senator Win Gatchalian said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) should file appropriate charges to bar narco politicians from joining the coming elections.
“Shaming them can only do so much. They have the money and local relationships that will ensure their victory,” Gatchalian said.
“Shaming them can only do so much.”
“The best strategy is to remove them legally through the proper courts,” the legislator added.
“The best strategy is to remove them legally through the proper courts.”
Senator Koko Pimentel III added that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) cannot prevent those on the list from running for office in May because “being on a list, even on a narco list” is not recognized as a legal ground for disqualifying candidates since they are all presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“If the government has included them in a list because the government is convinced, by evidence, of their involvement in the narco trade, then it is government’s duty now to file charges against them using the evidence which made them land in the said list,” Pimentel said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed support for the DILG’s proposal to make public the narco list ahead of the May 13 midterm elections.
Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, however, said releasing the list would be “unfair” as it is a form of negative campaigning.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said the list currently includes 83 politicians.
The campaign period for senatorial candidates and party-list groups started on Feb. 12 while the campaign period for local aspirants starts on March 30.
