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BY PRINCE GOLEZ and RUBY SILUBRICO
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January 23, 2018
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Malacañang now defends mayors Malones, Centena
MANILA – Finally, Ilonggo municipal mayors Mariano Malones of Maasin and Alex Centena of Calinog got what they have been wishing for – an unequivocal public pronouncement from Malacañang regarding their status as suspected drug protectors.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed to Panay News that the two local chief executives have been cleared by “police agencies” and defended their entry to the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) of President Rodrigo Duterte.
A relieved Malones told Panay News, “I know that the truth would prevail.”
He and Centena took their oath as new members of the party on Jan. 18, some 17 months after the President himself accused them of being drug coddlers in August 2016.
“Their names [were] cleared before they were allowed to take their oath as PDP-Laban [members],” said Roque.
The mayors were cleared by the police themselves who previously furnished Duterte with a list of suspected drug personalities that included the two local government executives, stressed Roque.
Malones believed the police and the President were fed with false information about him and that this was “politically motivated.”
“We will not unknowingly allow any drug lord to join the administration (party),” stressed Roque.
No less than House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, secretary general of PDP-Laban, administered the two mayors’ oath.
“Our enemies in politics wanted to ruin my name. They refused to accept the truth that the people of Maasin believe and love me,” said Malones.
Malones and Centena were two of the four mayors that Duterte publicly named and shamed as drug protectors in a speech in August 2016. The two others were Jed Patrick Mabilog, then mayor of Iloilo City, and Siegfredo Betita of Carles.
The four denied the President’s allegation and no drug-related charges have been filed against them.
In a previous interview, Malones said a “clearance” from Duterte was what mattered most to him.
“Is my taking oath as PDP-Laban member enough assurance that the President won’t tag me a drug protector anymore? This is what makes me uneasy. I may be embarrassed once again,” Malones asked then.
The Maasin mayor previously said he was told that “no one could issue us a clearance because the allegation made against us was merely verbal, there were no documentary proofs.”
“Tinaga man lang, so sa tinaga man lang kami mabawi eh,” said Malones.
Centena, on the other hand, told Panay News he knew he would eventually be vindicated “because I’m not guilty, my conscience is clear.”
“I have never associated with drug personalities. Ngaa higkuan ko akon ngalan tungod sang druga? Maayo na akon pangabuhi,” said Centena, a businessman with interests in agriculture and construction.
With Roque’s latest statement, the mayor said, “Daw nakuhaan ako sang tunok.”
“I know the truth will prevail. Sa kadugay ko na sa politika bag-o lang na-involve ngalan ko sa ilegal kag sa druga pa,” said Centena.
Like Malones, he suspected that a “political enemy” maneuvered to link him to illegal drugs.
“All issues hurled against me by my political enemy are hearsay and not true,” Centena said./PN
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