Barangay poll bets on drugs watch list to be bared, face raps

Candidates for the barangay elections who also landed on the verified drugs watch list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) may soon face administrative and criminal charges.

Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya said Wednesday that officials on the drugs watchlist and those who failed to organize a Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) will be charged.

"Matagal-tagal na rin po naming pinag-uusapan and we have a team at the [Department of the Interior and Local Governent] that is looking at this," Malaya said at a press briefing at the DILG-National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) office.

The special DILG team tasked with the case only received a go-signal from Interior Secretary Eduardo Año recently to proceed with the filing of cases.

"Administrative for failure to organize their BADAC and for failure to implement the activities of BADAC. Yung isa naman po na drug watchlist, that's a violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act," Malaya explained.

No further details were available as the team prepares the charges.

Malaya said he will meet with Undersecretary RJ Echeverri, in charge of the team with Undersecretary Martin Diño, for the proceedings on Wednesday afternoon.

"The decision has just been made na mag-file ng kaso, and we have a task force that is already working on this," he said. "Definitely, the direction of the department is if you fall in these two conditions... we will file cases against you."

Drug watch list online

Malaya said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has verified the list of alleged drug personalities handed to the DILG by regional offices, gathered from reports submitted by barangays.

He also encouraged residents who know which candidates have a history with illegal drugs to hold them accountable come election season.

With PDEA and the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) approval, the DILG plans to put online the drug watch list and the list of candidates on their third consecutive term as a barangay official online for voters.

Comelec spokesperson Director James Jimenez noted that they may keep the list private as reference when they are reviewing certificates of candidacy.

"Or, I think one of the suggestions is to make it public para yung publiko mismo yung puwedeng tumulong magbantay," he said.

Only persons subject to final conviction on crimes involving moral turpitude are disqualified from running for office.

"Wala tayong magagawa dun sa iboboto ng tao. Ang magagawa natin ay mabigyan sila ng kaalaman para sila, i-exercise nila yung kanilang choice ng tama. Pero yung just a pending case, unfortunately, will not prevent anyone from running," Jimenez said.

Checking the SOCE

President Rodrigo Duterte had warned that drug personalities will try to influence the turnout of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on May 14.

Jimenez said they may use the Statement of Contribution and Expenditure (SOCE) of successful candidates to check if any contributions can be traced back to questionable sources.

"In the past, nakita natin na isang mahalagang tool ang SOCE sa pagdedetermina kung sino ba ang nagpopondo ng mga kampanya," he said.

"And kung isa sa mga problema natin ay nanggagaling sa drug trade ang pera, then definitely, may mga markers tayong maghahanap sa SOCE natin," Jimenez continued.

Duterte eventually left it the Congress to decide if it will postpone local polls for a third consecutive year. Though the House of Representatives passed a bill for this, the Senate did not introduce a counterpart after the fact.

Less violence

The DILG remains confident that the upcoming elections will follow the trend of previous iterations and will feature less violence than before.

"All of these conditions work for a more orderly and peaceful elections but of course, may mga lugar talaga diyan na babantayan," Malaya said.

An election hot spot list will be released by the Philippine National Police to identify areas where polls may face difficulties, while Comelec may place these areas under their control. — MDM/RSJ, GMA News