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Some barangay execs tag political foes, not drug suspects in Tokhang lists —DILG official


Some barangay officials have taken to tagging their political foes as drug suspects in lists submitted to the Department of the Interior and Local Government, an official of the agency said.

"At this point in time puro basura ang ibinibigay sa aming impormasyon kasi ang nilalagay nila sa watchlist 'yung mga kalaban nila sa politika hindi 'yung mga totoong nasa watchlist ng droga," DILG Assistant Secretary Ricojudge Echiverri in a Senate hearing.

In a a report on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho by Jun Veneracion on Tuesday, Echiverri said the final list of suspected drug individuals must come from the office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

"We gather the watchlist but the final list should come from PDEA upon vetting para 'di siya corrupted by any political vendetta," Echiverri said.

He said this underscores the need for barangay elections to push through in May as the country needs new barangay leaders.

"There's no more excuse for a no election because we need new sets of barangay officials," Echiverri said.

DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño earlier said around 9,000 barangay chairman are involved in illegal drugs.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said this number must be publicized.

"The DILG has asked and the president has also asked the electorate to reject barangay officials who are somehow involved in drugs," Roque said.

On Monday, the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms approved yet another proposed postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, this time, to the second Monday of October 2018, or on October 8.

But a counterpart bill in the Senate still needs to be passed for the postponement to take effect. —Anna Felicia Bajo/JST, GMA News

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