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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Friday, February 3, 2017
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ILOILO City – A happy Mayor Mariano Malones of Maasin, Iloilo announced he was not in President Rodrigo Duterte’s list of government officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs.
This list was forwarded by the President to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) and the mayor said he had verified it with Chief Superintendent Jose Gentiles, regional police director.
According to Malones, during the President’s meeting with the country’s mayors in Malacañang last month, they were instructed to check the list that would be forwarded to various regional police offices.
“General Gentiles told me my name was not in the President’s list. I’m happy,” said Malones.
The mayor visited PRO-6 on Feb. 1.
Malones, however, said he will make further verification, this time with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that formed a task force to further investigate local officials suspected of having drug links.
“I want to secure a clearance from the DILG. Such clearance, I believe, will finally erase suspicions from people’s minds,” said Malones.
The mayor said he did not actually see the list that the President forwarded to the PRO-6 but Gentiles confirmed to him that his name was not in it.
In August last year, President Rodrigo Duterte named Malones as a drug protector along with three other mayors in Iloilo – Jed Patrick Mabilog of Iloilo City, Alex Centena of Calinog and Sigfriedo Betita of Carles. All of them denied the President’s allegation.
Centena recently expressed confidence of being cleared. He said one of the proofs he presented to the regional Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) was his Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth showing no hidden or unexplained wealth.
“Sila (CIDG) ang nag imbestigar sa akon sa Camp Crame. May ara na documents sa akon pero ina may final pa nga decision,” said Centena.
He failed to attend the country’s mayors’ meeting with President Duterte on Jan. 11 in Malacañang. He said he was hospitalized for pneumonia.
On Monday, it was reported that Mayor Mabilog was not in the list, too.
During his meeting with mayors, Duterte warned local chief executives involved in illegal drugs that they would be shot to death. Malones said he was not afraid.
“If you’re not guilty, you should not be afraid. And I am not afraid because I’m not involved in illegal drugs,” said Malones.
He said the local government of Maasin is bent on eradicating illegal drugs from the town, which only had 48 drug surrenderees.
This low number was not surprising, he said, because Maasin had been declared drug-free last year yet.
Days after Duterte tagged him as a drug coddler last year, Malones said he went to Davao City to personally meet with the President and clear his name./PN
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