DOJ chief to lead probe of prosecutors on narcolist

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra will personally lead the investigation into the alleged drug links of 10 prosecutors supposedly included in the so-called narcolist, if the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) would give him their names.

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino last week said they had intelligence reports implicating 10 prosecutors and 13 judges to the illegal drug trade, but also admitted they had to validate the reports before they released the names.

Aquino said these prosecutors had junked the cases filed by the PDEA to prevent them from reaching the courts.

Guevarra said his office would coordinate with the PDEA to get the names, and would order the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel investigation “if PDEA is willing to share its initial intelligence information with us.” —Dona Z. Pazzibugan