“Why is the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) taking its sweet time in releasing its so-called narco lists? It should stop stoking the public’s appetitie for controversy and divulge the names of those involved in drugs right away. Otherwise, better to just keep quiet and stop attracting so much media attention to itself.”
Senator Koko Pimentel III on Tuesday called on the PDEA to “stop teasing and playing with the public” and immediately disclose the names of public personalities and officials involved in illegal drugs.
The anti-drug body revealed last week that it had 31 showbiz personalities in its “drug watch list.”
“PDEA’s figures keep on changing, which confirms the general suspicion the list is not yet fully vetted.”
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino was also quoted as saying there may be more than 100 celebrities with illegal drug links based on the combined roster of the police and the military but clarified the list is still up for further validation.
Aquino later clarified he was in favor of releasing the list of celebrities linked to the illegal drugs trade, provided that it is validated and if President Rodrigo Duterte orders him to do so.
“Hindi pa pala navalidate eh nagpalabas na ng patikim sa media. That’s irresponsible. And the PDEA’s figures keep on changing, which confirms the general suspicion the list is not yet fully vetted,” Pimentel lamented.
The lawyer-legislator also pointed out that even the Supreme Court was having issues with the purported narco list because PDEA was purportedly in possession of 13 names of judges involved in the drug trade, but it did not furnish the list when requested by the High Court for purposes of its own internal investigation.
The Supreme Court was planning a probe on the judges in the latest narco lists but failed to do so because of lack of cooperation from PDEA.
“Although we do not want trial by publicity, if PDEA has confidence in its list then release it and file charges at the same time.”
Several prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) were also tagged in the unreleased PDEA roster, prompting Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to declare that he plans to personally lead the fact-finding efforts against the prosecutors involved.
“Although we do not want trial by publicity, if PDEA has confidence in its list then release it and file charges at the same time. Releasing it would be fair to those on the list so they can take the appropriate steps to clear their names,” Pimentel said.
