Celeste not off-the-hook
PDEA CLARIFIES
THE three politicians in Region 1, among them 1st District Rep. Jesus Celeste, included in the 2016 narco-list of President Rodrigo Duterte are not yet off-the-hook even if they were reported to have been “cleared” by the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC).
This was contained in a press statement of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) (see Manila Bulletin story on Page 10, February 8, 2019 issue) that refuted a newspaper report that Celeste and La Union Mayors Reynaldo Flores of Naguilian and Eulogio Clarence Martin de Guzman III of Bauang, have been cleared by RPOC of any involvement in illegal drugs.
The RPOC Revalidation sub-committee had recommended that the names of the three be stricken from the President’s list of narco-politicians.
In refuting the newspaper report, PDEA said that RPOC alone has no authority to clear a narco-politician.
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said: The President has the sole power to clear a narco-politician as recommended by four recommending bodies: PDEA, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency(NICA), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The three public officials are still under investigation by the four agencies, Aquino said.
At the same time, he clarified that there are no narco-politicians being delisted from President Duterte’s list, adding that only the President can initiate the adjudication process and clear those on the narco list.
Meanwhile, Bismark Bengwayan, spokesman of PDEA Region 1 clarified that the action of RPOC was only “a recommendation and not a clearance”.
He said this was based on the investigation of RPOC that found the three to have no involvement in illegal drugs. (Leonardo Micua)
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