The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) exhorted the public on Friday, Oct. 15, not to vote for candidates with illegal drug trade connections in the May 2022 national and local elections.
PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva issued the appeal after a Mountain Province mayoralty candidate and four others were allegedly caught with illegal drugs at a checkpoint in the locality last Oct. 13.
In the said operation, operatives of the PDEA Regional Office - Cordillera Administrative Region under Director Gil Cesario Castro and local police arrested former police officer and Sabangan town, Mountain Province mayoralty bet Sonny Kalaw and his four cohorts in a checkpoint operation in Oowayen, Barangay Poblacion.
The joint operatives seized from the suspects 19 bricks of dried marijuana leaves worth P2.28 million and one black Toyota HiAce Grandia, Castro noted.
“Dismiss candidates who are involved in illegal drug activities. They do not deserve your votes. We urge the voting public to choose wisely our next leaders,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva feared that in all likelihood, “re-electionists and prospective bets who act in collusion with drug syndicates might continue to lord it over the polls.’’
He noted that drug money may seep into the electoral process funding the campaign of certain politicians seeking positions in the government in exchange for protection and self-preservation.
“Your vote is precious and please treat it that way. If we want to attain drug-free communities, we should opt for leaders who genuinely defend the nation from illegal drugs,” Villanueva stressed.