Latest 'walk of shame' in Tanauan done Santacruzan-style

Eleven suspected drug pushers in Tanauan, Batangas, were forced to join the so-called "Flores de Pusher" walk of shame campaign on Monday of Mayor Antonio Halili.

In a report by John Consulta on Balitanghali, the suspects were brought to the Tanauan City Hall grounds before the Santacruzan-like shame campaign at the city center while a formal complaint was being drafted against them.

Some of the suspects, who were recently arrested from three target areas, denied that they are drug pushers while others admitted to the crime due to poverty.

One suspect was recently freed from jail and admitted he had to resort to selling illegal drugs because he had nothing else to do since he is always denied of employment on account of him being an ex-convict.

Halili said the suspects were given warnings to stop their illegal activities or face apprehension, but the suspects allegedly did not listen. The warnings were also delivered via mail to the suspects' residence.

Halili stressed the Commission on Human Rights cannot presume their inocence of the suspects since they were caught in the act. He said one suspect was even arrested while attempting to hide the illegal drugs in his underwear.

The Tanauan anti-crime group recovered the drug money with an unknown number of illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia.

The anti-crime group said they have proof that the suspects were involved in the illegal drug trade, including pictures or a surveillance video footage. It also said the arrests were properly documented.

Several relatives of the suspects witnessed the shame campaign and denied the suspect's involvement in illegal drugs.

The report said Tanauan has earned the tag of "little Mindanao" in the CALABARZON Region for the supposed rampant illegal drug trade there.

Halili, known for his policies resembling that of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte, vowed to curtail illegal drugs in his town and continue his shame campaign despite investigation by the CHR.

Majority of residents interviewed in the report supported Halili's campaign and called on to him to include big-time drug pushers in his campaign. —Joseph Tristan Roxas/KBK, GMA News