By Mar Gabriel
Eagle News Service
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is slated to release this week the names of over 200 barangay officials who are allegedly engaged in illegal drug activities.
In a press conference, PDEA director general Aaron Aquino said it was Malacañang itself that ordered him to release the 211 names.
The figure, he said, was a decrease from the 293 names included in the original narco-list of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Forty-one of the 293, he said, have been arrested, and others have died.
According to Aquino, the PDEA would also release the region where the officials are, and what their exact drug role is, whether a druglord, pusher or a protector.
“Ang isipin niyo, Malacanang is doing this because they want the people to choose a real leader. Gusto nila matinong leader,” he said.
He gave the assurance politics was not a factor in the choice of names to be released.
He said the names to be released have been subjected to a validation process done by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, PDEA and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
He said these barangay officials were the main hurdles to the clearing of barangays.
He said in fact, there have been reports of drug activities again in the around 2000 barangays that were already cleared.