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By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte on Tuesday made a public apology for linking former Pangasinan governor Amado Espino Jr. and two other local officials to illegal drug trade.
Duterte admitted that he committed a mistake when he tagged now Pampanga representative Espino, board member Raul Sison and former Pangasinan provincial administrator Raffy Baraan to the New Bilibid Prison “drug matrix.”
Duterte added that he has had the “narco list” verified four times and failed to find any evidence connecting Espino, Sison and Baraan to the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary.
“In so far as the drugs, I think that somehow we were negligent in counter-checking the first report. So kay Espino and even kay Sison and to Baraan I would like to apologize to you publicly,” Duterte said.
“I had it validated four times, Tiningnan ko kagabi yung report, dala ni PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency)… there’s a gap there that cannot be explained why his name was there,” he added. “Pinagaaralan ko talaga ng ilang gabi yung report ng pulis, barangay captain, the [Department of Interior and Local Government], the latest.”
In the said “drug matrix,” Duterte linked Sen. Leila de Lima and other former and current government officials to the alleged illegal drug operations inside the New Bilibid Prison.
Espino has denied his involvement in drug trade saying that he has only been to the national penitentiary once. He added that it is impossible for him to have a link to de Lima since the latter had filed a case against him before.
Baraan, for his part, called his inclusion in the list a “big joke” Baraan, brother of former undersecretary Francisco Baraan, was allegedly being used by Espino to protect his drug links./PN
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