Siaton mayor denies drug links
DUMAGUETE CITY — Before the second list of public officials involved in the illegal drugs trade could be announced by President Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor Fritz Diaz of Siaton in Negros Oriental made the first bold step of clearing his name.
Mayor Diaz said he was told his name is included in the second batch of names along with several other politicians with alleged links to the illegal drugs trade.
He said this prompted him to go to the police provincial command to verify if indeed his name was in that list.
He found out an anonymous letter-writer made “untruthful” reports about his business to the president, the Philippine National Police, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Bureau of Customs and other agencies in government.
Diaz hinted the report against him is somewhat political and personal, solely intended to put him down.
The mayor, saying in the spirit of transparency, then went to the Department of Justice, not to surrender but to submit an affidavit to disprove the claim of the letter-writer and then to the National Bureau of Investigation for the agency to further validate and verify the reports.
According to Diaz, a paper trail would show that the person he suspected of forcing his name to be included in the list wanted to destroy his name and his forwarding business.
Mayor Diaz further said he surrendered all his bank accounts before the DOJ to prove his business is legitimate.
He said that in his 45 days as a neophyte mayor of Siaton, the police had more than 40 arrests of suspected drug users and pushers, with the police getting strong backing from his office in the campaign against illegal drugs in his town.
Diaz said he even made roll calls in the barangays of suspected users and pushers to come out, telling them he will not allow illegal drugs to destroy the future of Siatanons.
An “Action Agad Center” will soon be established in Siaton to receive complaints, as well as respond to emergencies, said the mayor, adding that he was seeking for a donor of an ambulance for the purpose.