MANILA, Philippines — The government is not worried if politicians with suspected links to the illegal drug trade will withdraw their support for President Duterte’s advocacy for a shift to federalism, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said yesterday.
DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said a possible withdrawal of support for a federal form of Duterte administration would not deter the government from naming more politicians with suspected involvement in illegal drugs.
“The fight against illegal drugs is more important than anything else,” Malaya said on the sidelines of a conference on federalism attended by representatives from various government agencies at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City.
He did not say how many more politicians would be implicated in the illegal drug trade. Duterte on Thursday named 46 politicians, including three congressmen. Reports said several people in the narco list are the President’s partymates at the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
“We can’t do anything if they will no longer support us but at the end of the day, we go where the majority rules,” Malaya added.
He belittled the influence of narco politicians as they are just a small percentage of the number of local elected officials in the country.
“We have at least 42,000 barangays and more than 1,000 municipalities in the country. So we are still hoping that we will have the support to make this happen,” Malaya said.
Around 200 representatives of 76 national government agencies attended the conference on federalism, which is aimed at getting the inputs of other workers in government on federalism. The DILG previously consulted the public.
“We also need the support, the buy-in of the national government agencies because federalism is about giving resources and powers to the regions,” Malaya pointed out.
The DILG plans to hold a similar meeting next month with officials from local government units.
Political maneuverings
Alaminos City Mayor Arthur Celeste, who is eyeing the gubernatorial seat in the May 13 polls and whose brother was included in Duterte’s narco list released Thursday, said “this is all about political maneuverings.”
In a video posted Saturday night on his Facebook page, he pointed out that his elder brother, graduating Pangasinan First District Rep. Jesus Celeste, has been cleared by the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) of any involvement in illegal drugs in a resolution last December.
As of 11 a.m. yesterday, the video has gained 112,000 views, 4,100 reactions and 1,496 shares.
He explained that three officials were cleared or delisted in that RPOC resolution – the mayors of Bauang and Naguilian in La Union plus his brother, Rep. Jesus Celeste. The two mayors were no longer listed in the latest announcement made by the President but the name of Rep. Celeste remained, thus prompting his relatives and supporters to wonder.
“I know my brother too well. He is innocent of the accusations hurled against him,” Arthur said as he chided political opponents who are trying to drag his name into the issue.
He said he would continue to go around and bring some documents showing that Alaminos City is the first in Region 1, if not in the country, to have been cleared of illegal drugs.
He added that Alaminos City was also the lone city in Pangasinan to receive a gold award for their successful anti-drug abuse programs during the 1st National Anti-Drug Abuse Council Performance Award last December. – With Eva Visperas