Drug lords spending for bets in 12 city villages – PDEA 6
At least 12 barangays in Iloilo City are under close watch for being under the influence of top drug personalities.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 6 Regional Director Paul Ledesma said that drugs lords are reportedly on a spending binge to support their candidates in the barangay elections.
“In some instances, they also encourage their own relatives to run,” he said.
But Ledesma refused to name the barangays.
“The concerned officials, anyway, know about this,” he said, adding that these barangays are known to be havens of illegal drug trade.
Drug lords are expected to support more candidates in the barangay polls than in the national and local elections, according to PDEA 6.
“The barangay is their first line of defense. It is very crucial in a drug operation. That’s why, it is very important that they get the protection of the officials,” Ledesma said.
The protection offered by barangay officials could be in the form of being passive to the illegal drug trade in their villages, he said.
“We foresee that they won’t tell us if a drug operation occurs in their area – that could be a form of protection. It is also possible that if we are doing our verification job, they would deny the existence of drug users and pushers,” Ledesma said.
Asked how much financial support is involved, Ledesma said his office could not yet ascertain the amount for now.
“For now, we appeal to these officials not to trade their community’s future with money,” he said.*
