By Chito Chavez The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General stood firm on his stand against the release of the ‘narco-list’’ amid reports that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will make it public next week. In an interview, PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino insisted on his personal belief regarding the narco-list issue emphasizing that from the beginning “I don’t want the list to be revealed or disclosed. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron N. Aquino (KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / MANILA BULLETIN) Despite Aquino’s view, PDEA spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon clarified the agency will follow President Duterte’s order of releasing the narco-list. He explained the agency is against such move citing that politicians tied to illegal drugs under PDEA’s watch may elude apprehension. To expound further, Carreon noted the release of the list of narco-politicians will prepare rogue politicians to find ways to wiggle themselves out of their involvement in the illegal drug trade. If this happens, Carreon said the long hours of case build-up initiated by anti-narcotics operatives will just go down the drain. Earlier, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said that DILG Secretary Eduardo Año might release the list next week, in time for the campaign season for the May elections. Panelo said the President already gave the go signal for the release of the narco-list. He said that releasing the names of politicians with illegal drug links will guide the electorate in casting their votes for the May 2019 mid-term elections. Despite some opposition, Panelo insisted that it is also unfair for the public not to be informed about the credentials of the political aspirants. Panelo added the government will surely be blamed if politicians are elected by the voters who were not informed beforehand of the officials’ drug links.