Slain Clarin, Misamis Occidental mayor talked to Duterte 2 weeks before death

Clarin Mayor David Navarro meets President Duterte. Photo contributed

CLARIN, MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL –– Around two weeks ago, the late mayor David Navarro of this tiny rice-producing town in Misamis Occidental met with President Duterte in Manila to talk about his inclusion in the Palace’s narcolist.

In an interview with local media on Oct. 20, a video clip of which the Inquirer obtained, Navarro said he was happy to have been given the chance to see the president and explain his side.

“Kalooy sa Ginoo… Kay ang atoa lang man nga maka-atubang ta niya, kay duna gud tay kamatuoran nga dala. Siguro nakita sa presidente ang atong pagka-matinud-anon,” said Navarro, who usually peppers his public conversations with divine praises.

(With God’s mercy… Because what we have been aiming was to face the president and tell him the truth that we bring. Maybe the president saw our sincerity.)

As if contradicting the accusations against him, Navarro said all of the town’s barangays have been declared drug-cleared and that he has no record in the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) of being involved in the illicit drug trade.

“Sa record sa PDEA sa region (Northern Mindanao) wala tay involvement sa drugs. Sa record sa PNP wala tay involvement sa drugs. So, maoy rason nga naka-atubang ta sa presidente,” he added.

(In the record of the regional PDEA, we have no involvement in drugs. In the record of the PNP, we also have no involvement in drugs. This is the reason we can seek an audience with the president.)

Navarro believes that if Duterte was doubtful about his personality, the latter would not have entertained him because “I am just an ordinary person.”

He pointed to the appointment by the president of his younger brother Dan, a former Misamis Occidental board member, as regional director of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in Region 9.

Dan’s appointment was dated October 15.

“Kung duna may pagduda ang presidente sa among pamilya, walay hinungdan nga iyang i-hire nga kauban sa iyang administrasyon,” Navarro said.

(If the president was doubtful about our family, he could not have hired Dan as part of his administration.)

Navarro was shot by unknown gunmen at M. Velez Street in Cebu City on October 25 while en route to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office where he was supposed to undergo inquest for a host of charges arising from his demeanor inside a massage parlor Wednesday night.

Navarro was listed as No. 31 on Duterte’s list of narco-politicians that was released last March, in time for the midterm polls.

According to police data, at least 12 mayors and seven vice mayors have been killed from July 1, 2016 to January 2019, under the Duterte administration.