Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Monday, August 8, said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘narco-list’ of over 150 government officials was a product of the workshop launched by the intelligence community.
Dela Rosa told the media that some of those officials included in the list have already submitted themselves to investigation by the authorities after Duterte’s revelation on early Sunday morning, August 7.
The PNP chief acknowledged the errors in the list produced after the meeting of representatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the PNP, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Among the first errors that were pointed out by the media and the public was the fact that one of the seven judges in the list has died in 2009.
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However, dela Rosa insisted that the President did not only get the list through gossip.
“It wasn’t just gossip whispered to the President… or [a list of] those who didn’t support [him] in the elections. The President is not that shallow,” he said.
Dela Rosa also tried to downplay the impact of the erroneous list and wanted people to focus on the good outcome of the campaign against drugs.
“Why are we so concerned about the mistakes? We should be concerned about the good effects of this massive campaign. If we allow ourselves to be controlled by the fear of making mistakes, by a small percentage, this campaign will go nowhere,” the PNP chief said.
“To tell you frankly, we won’t be able to pin them down, because drug lords are very hard to pin down unless you have a comprehensive case buildup. But even if we don’t pin them down, and they keep on denying, at least the people know who they are, and they have promised to change,” he added.
Some of the officials lamented about how their credibility disappeared in an instant and how “the future of our children vanished” after being included in Duterte’s list.
Dela Rosa’s friend and “shooting buddy,” Vice Mayor Ohto Montawal of Montawal, Maguindanao province was included in the list and told the police chief, “Sir, you know me. We were best friends.”
However, dela Rosa simply said that being his friend did not matter when it comes to Duterte’s list, which “may be true or not true.”
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More errors in narco-list identified
- Judge Roberto Navidad died in 2008
Rappler’s earliest investigative report involving Duterte’s narco-list led to the discovery that one of the seven judges included in the list died in 2008, when he was shot by an unidentified man at close range, causing him to die on the spot.
- Former mayor Benhajar Tulawie died in 2014
Rappler also made another discovery of a dead former mayor whose name was in the list as “ex-mayor Benahar Tulawie of Talipao, Sulu.” However, Tulawie’s name in an election monitor newsletter of Namfrel and a resolution released by the regional assembly of ARMM is spelled as “Benhajar Tulawie. They then found out that the former mayor died in 2014.
- Judge Lorinda Mupas was dismissed from service in 2007
Judge Mupas was ordered dismissed from service by the Supreme Court in 2007 for “gross ignorance of the law and incompetence,” Rappler wrote.
- PO3 Filomeno Soroño died in 2010, listed as “PO3 Filomeno Toronia”
According to Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 spokesperson Chief Superintendent Andrea dela Cerna, Soroño died due to cardiac arrest in 2010.
- PO3 Jessie Balabag was dismissed from service in 2015
Dela Cerna said that Balabag was dismissed from service on August 3, 2015, citing “serious neglect of duty.” The spokesperson also called for the public to report any information regarding Balabag and his whereabouts because they are still searching for him.
- PO1 Philip Pantorilla died in 2014, whose surname was listed as “Pantarolla” in the narco-list
GMA News Online reports that Tacurong City Police Station chief Superintendent Ranie Hachuela said that Pantorilla died of a kidney ailment in January 2014. The city police chief also said that the late cop did not have any record of being involved with the illegal drug trade.
Pantorilla’s widow, Agnes, lamented the inclusion of her late husband’s name in Duterte’s list.
“It is not true that my husband was an illegal drug protector, he is already dead and yet his name was dragged into this. I am sure he had not been into illegal drugs… [But] sadly his name was included on the list. But I don’t blame President Duterte as he was just provided with wrong information. If Philip was a drug protector, we could have been living lavishly now. Look, we are still poor!” she said.
Sources: (newsinfo.inquirer.net, rappler.com, gmanetwork.com)
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