‘Narcolist release not impeachable offense’
Credit to Author: CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT| Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2019 16:57:21 +0000
Malacañang on Saturday said President Rodrigo Duterte could not be impeached for releasing a list of politicians allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo dismissed as “pure nonsense” the claim of Akbayan Rep. Tomasito Villarin that Duterte could be impeached for making public those who are on the so-called narcolist.
Panelo said the President did not commit any impeachable offense when he released the narcolist.
“For the legal education of Rep. Villarin, the appropriate charges have already been filed against the personalities contained on the list before the Office of the Ombudsman, affording them their right to due process and an opportunity to clear their names. The release of their names is nothing more than a release of the names of criminal suspects. Such act cannot be considered a legal transgression, and even more so, an impeachable offense,” the Palace official said.
He added that individual liberties should be harmonized with the people’s right to the preservation and protection of their welfare.
“The drug menace has evolved into a national security problem as it threatens to destroy the very foundation of society. The President as head of the state is constitutionally commanded to serve and protect the nation,” Panelo said.
“It is the failure of the President to perform his constitutional duty of serving and protecting the people that makes him liable to impeachment for such omission is culpable violation of the Constitution and a betrayal of the public trust,” he added.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government filed administrative charges against the 46 politicians on the narcolist for “grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, conduct unbecoming of a public officer, and gross neglect of duty” hours before the President read the names of those on the list.
Those on the narcolist have denied involvement in the illegal drug trade. They said their inclusion might be a product of an irresponsible investigation or might have been done by their political rivals.
A total of 46 officials, including 35 mayors, seven vice mayors, one provincial board member, and three members of the House of Representatives are on the list.
Villarin, however, insisted that Duterte’s act of naming officials allegedly linked to drugs should face scrutiny because “there was malice or intent to deprive these individuals of their constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process, privacy and presumption of innocence.”
“Any lawyer worth his salt knows that administrative cases against public officials are a ‘dime a dozen’ and goes with the territory. I dare Atty. Salvador Panelo to also name the thousands of public officials who have administrative cases if mere filing of administrative cases is enough to make public such accusations, much less being linked to illegal drugs,” the lawmaker said.
“Malacañang’s public shaming campaign is like a broken record played over and over again. Its narrative is to sow fear, intimidation, and violence against its critics and for the public to become ‘immunized’ from such brazen acts of impunity,” Villarin said.
Sara explains support
Also on Saturday, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio defended her decision to support politicians who were included in the narcolist.
Duterte-Carpio said she “will never turn down politicians who would publicly request her to raise their hands.”
“[I] chose not to get a copy of the list of ‘narco politicians’ because [I] would rather leave it to the voters to decide on the qualifications they look for in a candidate above and beyond what is required by law,” she said. Duterte-Carpio is chairman of regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago.
“A vote for a candidate should be a personal decision based on a voter’s perception and assessment of all the candidates,” she added.
The mayor issued the statement after a photo showing her raising the hand of a politician who was included in the narcolist circulated online.
Duterte-Carpio earlier said candidates under her party who would figure on the narcolist would be given the chance to answer allegations.
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