PNP says Leyte solon has no drug record with cops, PDEA defers action to SolGen

Authorities on Thursday clarified that Leyte Representative Vicente Veloso III is not in any of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) drug-related records, saying only the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) keeps a record of the supposed "narco list."

This, after the Court of Appeals (CA) order the PNP to remove the lawmaker's name from the government's narco-list.

In a statement, the PNP said they received the CA decision on Tuesday but added that the PNP’s Directorate for Intelligence had already informed the appeals court that Veloso was not on their drugs list.

“The PNP Directorate for Intelligence has already represented before the CA that Leyte Representative Vicente Veloso III is not a subject of any information report,” the PNP said.

“Thus, as far as the PNP is concerned, we are not affected by the CA order since we have no record on Veloso’s inclusion in the so-called ‘narco list,'” it added.

Asked about the CA order, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the narco-list is in the custody of the PDEA.

“The so-called narco-list is in the custody of the PDEA-ICAD and not with the DILG so the proper agency to act on any judicial order on the matter is the PDEA,” he told GMA News Online.

“We note however that the decision of the CA is not yet final and executory so we will defer to the guidance of the Office of the Solicitor General who is the counsel of the government in this case,” he added.

In a statement, the PDEA said it respected the decision of the CA but added that it would defer its actions to the Office of the Solicitor General.

"PDEA, as one of the executive arms of the government, is bound to abide and follow the rule of law," the statement read.

"However, we defer all our actions to the Office of the Solicitor General being the principal law office and legal defender of the government tasked to represent the government, its agencies and instrumentalities for the exhaustion of legal remedies available," it added.

The CA also directed the authorities to destroy all documents, records, and information related to Veloso's inclusion in the so-called "narco list.”

"They are also enjoined from further including [Veloso's] name in any publicized derogatory list that fails to follow due process and from taking any further courses of action in direct relation to the documents, records, and information which resulted in the issuance of the March 14, 2019 narco list, other than to commence appropriate criminal proceedings," the CA said. -MDM/NB, GMA News