3 Iloilo mayors dropped from Rody drug list?

ILOILO CITY – What does it take for a politician tagged as a drug protector by President Duterte himself to clear his name?

The question surfaced after two of three Iloilo municipal mayors, who were on Duterte’s drug list, recently took their oath as members of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque gave assurance that the mayors were not cleared simply because they joined the PDP-Laban.

Roque was in Iloilo City yesterday to witness the 50th Dinagyang Festival.

He was asked about the process of clearing a politician or police officer tagged by Duterte as a drug protector.

On Jan. 18, Mayor Mariano Malones of Maasin and Mayor Alex Centena of Calinog took their oath along with 5,000 other politicians from the third congressional district of Iloilo.

Although he did not take the oath, Mayor Siegfred Betita of Carles town attended the event.

The oathtaking was presided by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, PDP-Laban secretary-general.

Asked if the mayors were out of the narco list, Alvarez said he had to take the word of the mayors that they had been cleared.

Roque said that before the PDP-Laban accepts members, it has its own way of ensuring the integrity of the people they accept.

“I also know that the information on these drug personalities were provided by several government agencies,” he added.

Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. offered some insights on the supposed clearance of the three mayors.

Defensor, who used to be with the Liberal Party when he sought re-election in 2016, said that after he accepted the invitation to join the PDP-Laban, he visited Alvarez at his office.

He said he told Alvarez that there were three Iloilo mayors on the President’s drug list.

“I told him if it is possible that they take their oath,” Defensor said, adding that he has a copy of the latest drug list of the President.

Alvarez supposedly told Defensor that he would verify if the three mayors were still on the list.

“The next day, I received a call from his office and his chief of staff said all of them were cleared because their names were no longer on the list,” Defensor said.

“When Alvarez was asked about the matter on Jan. 18, he said he had to check it. He must have forgotten that it had been checked and that all the mayors’ names were no longer on the list,” Defensor said.

Roque said the mayors were not cleared because they joined the party.

“They were allowed to join the party because they were cleared first. They would not have been allowed if they were not cleared,” Roque said, adding he received a request from the three mayors for their names to be cleared.

Roque said he submitted the names and the request for clearance to Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa and to the chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

He said he did not know what happened to the request.

“The clearing process involved different law enforcement agencies mandated to participate in the campaign against illegal drugs,” Roque said.