Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel Jr. has offered a simple solution for dead persons included in a long list of politicians, policemen and judges allegedly involved in illegal drugs: Don’t report to your superiors.
“Yung patay na e di wag syang mag report sa kanyang superior. Ganun lang yun,” Pimentel said in an interview on Monday.
“Pero yung buhay pa, mag-report kayo sa superior ninyo because that’s a suggestion of the President and that’s the proper thing to do,” he said.
(If the person is dead, then there’s no need for him to report to his superior. That’s it.
(But those who are living, you should report to your superiors because that’s the President’s suggestion and that’s the proper thing to do.)
The Senate leader was reacting to reports that some of those on the list released by President Rodrigo Duterte himself were already dead while some names and positions were allegedly wrong.
READ: Samar judge tagged by Duterte as drug protector died 8 years ago
If there were indeed mistakes on the list, then Pimentel said it could be corrected easily.
“Kunwari nasali sa listahan isang patay e ang damage lang nun e dun sa reputation lang nung namatay, so ikokorek na lang po yan in due time. Actually ikokorek yun in due time if lumabas nga na never syang naging involved sa illegal drug trade dahil kung totoo naman, e di wala ring issue. Wala na ngang hurt yung tao kasi patay na sya, hindi na nya maramdaman yung hurt,” he said.
“We all make mistakes…Ang ikinaganda sa listahan ni Presidente, kausapin nyo yung iba dun (sa nasa listahan), yung iba dun aamin that they were involved in the past. Ibig sabihin nun may basehan,” he added.
(If, for instance, they included a dead person in the list, then the damage is to the reputation only of the dead, so that will be corrected in due time. Actually, that would be corrected in due time if it turns out that he was never involved in the illegal drug trade, because if it is true, then there’s no issue. The person is dead, so he wouldn’t feel hurt.
(We all make mistakes, the good thing about the President’s list is that if you talk to some of those included in it, some would admit that they were involved in illegal drug trade in the past. That means that [the list] has a basis.) CDG/rga
READ: Bato admits errors on President’s list