Duterte drug list: Ex-mayor in Lanao Sur now a Greenhills jeweller, seeks due process

A sample of a pearl ring being traded at Greenhills: Former Saguiran mayor Rasmin Macabago of Lanao del Sur says she’s a jewelry trader, not a drug coddler. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JILSON SECKLER TIU)

TACLOBAN CITY — Former mayor Rasmin Macabago of Saguiran, Lanao del Sur went to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), on Monday, to clear her name after she was identified by President Duterte as among the protectors of illegal drugs.

Macabago was accompanied by her lawyer Felomino Arteche III when she met with CIDG Supt.  Francisco Ebreo, CIDG investigator in Camp Crame on Sunday, hours after the list was released by Mr. Duterte.

“We went to the CIDG not to surrender but to clear my client’s name,” said Arteche who was based here.

Arteche said inclusion in the list was not enough but due process must be properly observed.

“There must be clear and convincing evidence to prove it (the allegation of protecting drug lords),” he said.

Macabago, who was mayor for one term, has been residing in Manila since  her term ended in 2010. She is managing a family jewelry business, involving mostly pearls at the Greenhills Shopping Arcade, in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

Arteche said she went to the CIDG immediately to debunk allegations pinning her down as a drug protector.  SFM