Diño: Each barangay drugs watchlist will be verified
LOCAL Government Undersecretary for barangay affairs Martin Diño assured on Thursday, January 11, that the drugs watchlist which he ordered the barangay officials to submit will be carefully verifi ed.
“Hindi lamang pagbabasehan natin ang report ng barangay. Meron din tayong mga report galing sa NGO (nongovernment organization), meron tayong report galing sa ating simbahan, meron tayong report kaya iko-compare natin sa DILG,” he said amid claims of several groups that having such list may promote human rights violation.
“Ang maganda dito alam natin na ako bilang naging barangay captain, nasabi ko nga barangay captain ang pinakatsismosong tao sa Pilipinas dahil kung hindi mo alam ang nangyayari sa barangay mo, eh wala kang kwentang barangay captain,” he added.
Diño was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, months after he was removed as chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
After his appointment was release, Diño said the first thing he would do as he assume post is to order the baranggay chairmen to submit to him list of drug personalities in their areas.
He said he will assure all barangays nationwide will participate in the government’s war on drugs.
Human rights lawyer Gilbert Andres of the Center for International Law, on the other hand, denounced Diño’s order, saying that it may violate the Constitution.
He said they are planning to take legal actions to stop Diño’s order which may result in the killing of those persons included on the list.
“Nakakabagabag, ano, itong direktiba ni Usec. Diño, dahil una, mayroong paglabag sa Constitution, ‘yung right to presumption of innocence, kasi ang sabi dito suspected drug pushers, suspected criminals,” he said Wednesday.
“Dapat po ‘wag tayong gumawa ng listahan kasi unang-una, estado yan, estado ang gumagawa ng listahan, at kung meron na pong labeling ang estado natin, delikado na yan. Hindi ‘yan basta-basta lang, kung sabihin ng estado na ‘Huy, kriminal ka,’kasi korte lang makakagawa niyan,” he added.
Diño has assured that they will be extra careful in verifying the names in the drugs list and that they will save no one pointing out that during his leadership in a barangay in Quezon City, he made a drug list and included there his brother and other relatives.
“Kasi kung talagang gusto mo na maayos ang iyong barangay wala kang sisinuhin. Kita mo ako, napagbago ko ang aking kapatid at ngayon kagawad. Ibig sabihin may pag-asa na i-rehab natin,” he said.
“Kaya’t ako naniniwala din ako na ‘yung isang milyon na surrenderee, kung walang mapaglagyan ang national government, pwede naming gawin sa barangay ‘yan. Meron tayong rehabilitation na gagawin mismo sa barangay,” he added. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/ SunStar Philippines)