The President makes a claim involving illegal drugs on the slain mayor hours after his death.
During the 58th founding anniversary of Southern Leyte, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in his speech on Monday, July 2, in Maasin City said that he suspects that Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili was into drugs.
Speaking in Bisaya, the President added that it was only his suspicion.
“Kunwari ipa-procession ang mga addicts, siya pala, siya ‘yun (He was only pretending to have a procession of drug addicts, but it is really him, it is him),” Duterte continued.
A mayor for many years, Duterte was discussing various mayors that used their shared position in illegal drug trade, specifying Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa. Both Parojinog and Espinosa were killed in police operations and were also in the Chief Executive’s list of ‘narcopoliticians.’
Continuing his speech, Duterte the architect of the campaign to eradicate illegal drugs reiterated his call for politicians to not involve themselves with the illegal narcotics.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, the mayor’s daughter, Angeline Halili said that Duterte may have been given the wrong information about her father.
“Hindi ko rin naman masisisi iyung Presidente natin na makapagsalita ng ganoon kung siya naman ay nabibigyan ng mga hindi totoong impormasyon at ang mga impormasyon na ibinibigay sa kaniya ay nakakasakit at nakakapanira lang po sa mga taong gumagawa ng maganda (I cannot blame our President for his words if he was given false information and these information given to him are meant to hurt people who are good),” she said.
In contrary to Duterte’s claim, Malacañang through Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr., said that the slain mayor was a supporter of the administration’s war on drugs.
“[Siya] po ay isang napakatibay na kasangga ng Presidente sa giyera laban sa droga. Siya po ay napakahusay na alkalde sa kanyang pamumuno sa napakaunlad na bayan ng (He was a strong teammate of the President in the war on drugs. He is a capable mayor in his leadership in the progressive town of) Tanauan, Batangas,” Roque said in an interview with DZBB on Monday.
Furthermore, Roque refused to comment on Halili’s alleged drug involvement and said that this is not yet the time for the discussion as people should mourn for the family’s loss.
Halili, 72, was shot dead early Monday during a flag-raising ceremony at his town’s city hall in the middle of the crowd of city hall employees.
(Read: Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili shot dead)
He was known for the “walk of shame” in which he paraded drug users, with cardboard signs saying that they are drug addicts and should not be imitated. Halili has denied drug allegations thrown against him, vowing to be part of the parade himself if they were proven to be true.