QC Mayor Herbert Bautista: I will never be involved in illegal drug trade

Published August 27, 2016 1:34pm

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista said he will never be involved in the illegal drug trade as he admitted being hurt that his brother Hero, a former actor, is undergoing drug rehabilitation.

In a statement that he personally wrote and sent from Oslo, Norway where he is serving as adviser of the Philippine government peace panel, the mayor said, "I am not and will never involve myself to the illegal drug trade. Anti-drug is my advocacy since I was 17 years old."

Bautista issued the statement a day after the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) filed several complaints against him and Hero for the supposed proliferation of illegal drugs in Quezon City.

The Bautistas were charged with dishonesty, neglect of duty, misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.

The brothers both won in the May 9 elections this year. Hero was serving his first term as city councilor before he went on leave to undergo drug rehab.

"As to my brother Hero, it pains me, my sister Harlene and the rest of our family that Hero is a drug dependent," Bautista said.

"It is really very painful for us. It is good that he took the drug test and was found to be a drug user. He is now undergoing rehabilitation Our sister, Harlene, facilitated his entry to rehab and is monitoring the progress," he said.

Bautista admitted that many were asking why he did not scold Hero or take action on his brother's drug use.

"Hero is 48 years old, has his own family, is independent from us. We barely see or talk to each other because we, as individuals, have our own set of lives and concerns," Bautista said.

"We only see each other on special family gatherings which are few because we are a small family. I am proud of him because he is taking full responsibility for his actions," he added.

Under the QC Drug Free Workplace Ordinance, chronic users and drug dependents are required to undergo a mandatory six-month treatment and rehabilitation in a government rehabilitation center.

When QC local government employees again test positive for drugs after the rehab treatment, he or she may be suspended or dismissed under Civil Service Commission regulations.

Police chiefs tagged in drugs

Meanwhile, Bautista noted that VACC's Dante Jimenez is concluding that "because the two generals linked in the illegal drug trade were former Quezon City Police District (QCPD) chiefs therefore the mayor is too."

"Just for the record, I am not involved in choosing the district director of QCPD," the mayor explained.

"Even if the law/policy provides that the local chief executives (LCE) will have to choose one from three to five names from the list given by the PNP, not a single list reached me," he added.

Bautista noted that in his experience as QC mayor, a district director is appointed to QCPD without consulting the LCE.

"Secondly, because I am not technically involved in the affairs of the QCPD it is imperative that the district director is given full administrative and operational control over the QCPD's rank and file," he said.

The mayor took note that the QC government continues to support the QCPD's efforts to curb crime and drugs.

"As LCE, I give guidance through the QC Peace and Order Council (QCPOC) as a matter of DILG policy," Bautista said. — John Ted Cordero/VVP, GMA News

Tags: drugs, illegaldrugs, warvsdrugs, herbertbautista