Joel Pagdilao vows to clear name, willing to submit to lifestyle check

Chief Superintendent Joel Pagdilao on Tuesday said he could prove to the public that he was not involved in the illegal drug trade as alleged by President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a television interview, Pagdilao denied that he was protecting drug syndicates.

"Wala pong katotohanan na ako'y protektor ng iligal na droga. Matagal na po tayo lumalaban sa iligal na droga. Commander po tayo. Lagi po natin ipinag-uutos ay hulihin ang malaki o maliit man nagbebenta ng iligal na droga," Pagdilao said.

"Kaya ko pong linisin ang aking pangalan at alam ko po na ligal ang aking pinapagawa sa aking mga tauhan," he added.

Pagdilao, a former chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, added he was willing to undergo a lifestyle check.

"Nakahanda ako ipagtanggol ang aking sarili at pangalan ng Pagdilao," he said, even as he admitted that Duterte's pronouncements saddened him.

Pagdilao also admitted that the president's accusation had caught him off guard.

"Sa totoo lang, wala akong inkling na mababanggit 'yung pangalan ko," he said on GMA News TV's "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho". "Because for the past 32 years talagang ginampanan ko ang trabaho ko ng tapat, may pagmamahal sa trabaho, lalong lalo na itong paglaban sa iligal na droga."

"The records speak for itself. Hindi ko hinaluan ng kalokohan ang aking pagseserbisyo."

The police official also did not know why he was accused of being involved in the illegal drug trade.

Pagdilao said he would meet with Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Wednesday.

Pagdilao was relieved as chief of the National Capital Region Police Office on July 1, is on floating status.

Apart from Pagdilao, former Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo Jr. former Chief Superintendent Vicente Loot (now mayor of Daangbantayan town in Cebu), Chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz, former director at Police Regional Office 6, and Chief Superintendent Edgardo Tinio, former director of the Quezon City Police District Office were alleged to have been involved in illegal drugs. —Virgil Lopez/NB, GMA News