President’s drug list should silence critics, Belmonte says

By Nora Soriño,
Iligan City Bureau Chief

Iligan City — A former representative here expressed his elation to media yesterday over President Duterte’s list of drug personalities in the country.

Ex-congressmman Vicente Belmonte, Jr. called the list “down to earth.”

Belmonte said the list should put to rest all of his critics who have been accusing of involvement in the illegal drug trade.

His name did not appear in the list which Duterte revealed early Sunday morning. He said his critics are proven wrong as he had been tagged as a “drug lord.”

Earlier, he said that his opponents, evidently referring to mayor Celso Regencia and supporters, had tagged him as a “drug lord.” Then he said that they tagged him as “drug protector.” This, he said, meant that there were no evidences hence, his critics has “downgraded” him to a “drug protector.”

The list of the President, to recall which numbered over 160 included local government officials, district representatives, mayors, vice mayors, board members, members of the uniformed services, and even members of the judiciary.

In other development, two police officer from this city were included in the list presented by Duterte.

Police Officers Roy Montes and Emilio Mendoza were among those named in the list.

Authorities here are now investigating if Montes and Mendoza are still on active duty in the city.