Boholanos are keeping a close watch as the 3rd “narco list” of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte will be released this week.
The reaction came after reports from Manila said the “narco list” will be released this week, according to Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II last Sunday.
Sec. Aguirre said the narco-list was thoroughly checked to ensure that the information linking the officials and other personalities in the drug trade is accurate.   Aguirre said the release of the third list has been delayed because the President wanted it verified five times by various law enforcement agencies.
“Iyong tungkol sa pangatlong narco-list, sinasabi ni Presidente na because of the lesson sa nangyari kay Rep. Amado Espino, makailang beses niyang ipina-verify ‘yan, in other words, na-check ang authenticity sa third narco- list,†Aguirre said in a radio interview, referring to the admission of the President of lapses in linking the Pangasinan lawmaker to the drug list.
“This week, baka ilabas na ‘yan kasi meron kaming Cabinet meeting ,†he added.
Aside from Espino, Duterte also apologized to Pangasinan board member Raul Sison and former provincial administrator Raffy Baraan for the lapses committed in linking them to the alleged drug trade activities at the New Bilibid Prison implicating former DOJ Secretary and now Senator Leila De Lima.
The statement of Sec. Aguirre came even as Pres. Duterte again mentioned Bohol yesterday as one of the provinces that surprised him on the proliferation of drugs in the province.
“Nagtataka ako bakit sa Bohol pa,” the President said in his speech yesterday before leaders of the local government units (LGUs) at the 3rd Sulong Pilipinas 2016 Convention at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City The third in a series of consultations on local governance, this month’s Sulong Pilipinas aims to discuss peace and order, and social development amongst LGUs.
The President cited the religousity of the Boholanos that made him hard to believe that drugs proliferate here, though he also mentioned the heavy influx of tourists here.
The 3rd “narco list” was reportedly given by the President to the military for review and re-validation before his trip to Vietnam last week.
For his part, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, Jr. told the Chronicle in an interview that he asked the President to delay the list which includes those that come from the province.
The mere “waiting” for the list to be released is “enough agony” for those who know to be involved in the drug operations here, Sec. Evasco said.
The province has registered more than 31,000 drug “surrenderees” which proved the proliferation of drugs in almost all barangays here. An earlier PNP report said more than 90% of the barangays are drug-affected.
Asked to comment on this, PNP Regional Director Noli Talino, said the high number of drug surrenderees is indicative of an effective campaign against drug addiction here.
In fact, he cited both the civilian and military officials in Bohol for a successful campaign under the “Operation Tokhang,” where thousands of the drug users and pushers came out in the open to surrender.
He said that the mechanics in determining the percentage of barangays affected has to be changed. He said the guidelines stated that even if only one barangay resident uses drugs, the barangay will already be listed as “drug affected.”
“This is not statistically correct,” Director Talino said during the Chronicle interview.
The PNP and PDEA has yet to come up with the updated mechanics in determining the level of affected areas on drugs, the PNP regional director concluded.