At least nine village officials from Misamis Oriental and Iligan City are now being monitored by police authorities for their supposed involvement in illegal drugs, an official of the Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao said on Friday, September 2.
The police official who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak on the matter, said police authorities, along with officials from the Department of Interior and Local Government, have begun validating information concerning the alleged involvement of some village officials in illegal drugs.
The official, however, declined to say when the list will be completed and publicized.
The police official said they have yet to receive the list of similarly accused village officials from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Occidental, and Bukidnon.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno earlier said that as many as 1,000 barangay executives may be involved in illegal drugs either as pushers or drug coddlers.
Police Chief Inspector Allan Curato, Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) spokesperson, likewise said they have yet to receive a list of village officials with links to illegal drugs from Cocpo’s intelligence unit.
A village chief, village councilman, a barangay treasurer, and four militiamen had earlier voluntarily surrendered to policemen from Police Station 8 in Barangay Lumbia.
The seven village officials of a hinterland barangay of the city, Curato said, had gone to the police station after being subjects of the police’s Operation Tokhang, an anti-illegal drug campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.
"Posible naa pa gyud pero wala pa nakaabot sa akong office ang figure," Curato said.
Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president Yan Lam Lim said he is fully behind efforts to cleanse the ranks of village officials and encouraged village officials with drug involvement to respond to Tokhang.
"Naa koy nahibaw-an sauna nga mga kapitan nga nag-rehab na I will not mention names but maayo matagaan sila chance through this Tokhang,"Lim said.
But ABC federation president said these officials should be given a chance to reform and begin a new life.
Lim said it is better to surrender to prevent being target of the anti-illegal drugs operations by the authorities in the future.
"We don't know man gud sa ilang reason sometimes naay temptation or tungod sa kalisod. Let us give them chance kay tawo raman ta makasala dili nato diretso sila i-condemn," Lim said.
"Mas maayo mag-surrender para at least maproteksyonan kaysa madakpan sa police operation ayha na dayon magbasol at least karon naa pa silay panahon," Lim added.
Lim said the federation will discuss the anti-illegal drug campaign and the involvement of barangay officials in the illegal drug business during the ABC's regular session.
The federation's regular meeting is scheduled every last Friday of the month.
"Mahisgutan sa next session kung unsa na ang improvement sa tokhang ug unsa ang mga problema kay diha sa meeting naa man gud exchange of ideas," Lim said.
