DILG Usec Diño defends directive asking barangays to submit drug list

Newly-appointed Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño on Thursday defended and justified his directive to barangay executives asking them to submit a list of drug personalities and suspected criminals in their respective areas.

In an interview on Unang Balita, the former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman said the list will undergo a stringent verification process amid apprehensions from human rights advocates.

"Hindi lamang pagbabasehan natin ang report ng barangay. Meron din tayong mga report galing sa NGO (nongovernment organization), meron tayong report galing sa ating simbahan, meron tayong report kaya iko-compare natin sa DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government]," he said.

"Ang maganda dito alam natin na ako bilang naging barangay captain, nasabi ko nga barangay captain ang pinakatsismosong tao sa Pilipinas dahil kung hindi mo alam ang nangyayari sa barangay mo, eh wala kang kwentang barangay captain," he added.

Lawyer Gilbert Andres of the Center for International Law (CenterLaw) criticized the supposed "unconstitutionality" of Diño's order to barangay executives, saying that this drug watchlist could serve as a basis for arresting or even killing those on the list.

Diño, for his part, assured that there will be no cases of mistaken identity on the barangay's drug personalities list as there will be checks and balances.

He also mentioned that during his time as a former barangay captain in Quezon City, he had also submitted the names of his own brother and other relatives.

"Kasi kung talagang gusto mo na maayos ang iyong barangay eh wala kang sisinuhin. Kita mo ako, napagbago ko ang aking kapatid at ngayon kagawad. Ibig sabihin may pag-asa na i-rehab natin," he said.

"Kaya't ako naniniwala din ako na 'yung isang milyon na surrenderee, kung walang mapaglagyan ang national government, pwede naming gawin sa barangay 'yan. Meron tayong rehabilitation na gagawin mismo sa barangay," he added.

Diño was officially appointed as DILG undersecretary on January 8.

During the turnover ceremony at the DILG for the agency's new officer-in-charge, Eduardo Año, Diño said he will make sure all barangay chairmen will participate in the government's war on drugs. —Marlly Rome Bondoc/KG, GMA News