Duterte names over 40 pols on narco list, says raps already filed

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday bared the names of more than 40 politicians on his list of drug personalities.

The names of the supposed narco-politicians were made public a few days before the campaign period for the local election candidates starts on March 29, 2019.

This Department of the Interior and Local Government said the 46 personalities Duterte named were already facing complaints before the Ombudsman in connection with their alleged drug activities.

The initial list released to the public by the President includes 35 mayors, seven vice mayors, one provincial board member, and three members of the House of Representatives.

Some were already dismissed from service, according to the report.

Duterte said other names on the list will be bared when the government had enough evidence for complaints to be filed.

Among those Duterte named were Daangbantayan, Cebu Mayor Vicente Loot and former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.

Loot has denied the President’s allegation, saying in a statement in 2016 that he would not have had the power to protect any criminal because the last seven years of his police service had been "purely administrative in nature.”

Mabilog in 2016 also denied Duterte's allegation and asked for a speedy investigation as he expressed fears over his safety and that of his family.

He has since been dismissed by the Ombudsman for a graft case.

The regions with the highest number of local officials on the latest narco list were Calabarzon and the Bangsamoro region, having ten each.

The DILG said that the personalities' involvement in the illegal drug trade has been validated by the Interagency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) which is chaired by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Administrative charges of grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, conduct unbecoming of a public officer, and gross neglect of duty will be faced by the alleged drug personalities.

"With the filing of cases with the Ombudsman, those in the initial Narcolist that was released by the President will now have an opportunity to refute or rebut the allegations against them," DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said.

Some sectors have previously expressed concerns that the list might be used against the critics of the Duterte administration, citing that due process and the presumption of innocence must be upheld. —with Virgil Lopez/NB, GMA News