Release of celeb narcolist to public ‘unfair’- Lacson

Panfilo Lacson

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday said the celebrity “narcolist” should not be released to the public unless formal cases have been filed.

“In the first place, ‘di dapat gawing public [ang narco-list] unless nag-file ka na ng case (In the first place, the narco-list should not be made public unless the authorities have filed formal cases),” Lacson said during the Kapihan sa Senado.

Lacson explained that once formal cases have been filed, the list would be considered as a public record.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) earlier revealed that there are at least 30 celebrities in the narco-list.

Lacson, however, said that the government must not merely rely on intelligence information, but rather seek for verified information.

“Kung maglalabas ka ng listahan at sasabihin mong validated ito, dapat mayroong ebidensya kasi ang intelligence information pwedeng mamali, pwedeng tumatama (If they release the list which they claim to be verified, there should be evidence since intelligence information could either be wrong or right),” Lacson said.

Lacson said the release of the list to the public without a proper decision from the court is ‘unfair’ especially for those running for positions in the government.

“Backed by evidence and kung magkaroon ng logical conclusions sa Korte, ‘yan talaga ang magsasabi kung involved talaga ang tao (A person can only be proven to be involved in drug-related activities if there is a logical decision from the Court),” Lacson said.

“I think it’s unfair to make public these names especially ngayon mage-eleksyon, tapos babawiin… ‘Di ba unfair ‘yun? (I think it’s unfair to make these names public especially with the nearing elections. Isn’t that unfair?),” the senator added.