Dumb and cruel.
This was how Senator Panfilo Lacson described the decision of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to release in public a list of barangay chairpersons and councilmen allegedly linked with illegal drugs.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs said the intelligence report on officials involved witih illegal drugs should only be used to gather evidence and should not be released in public.
The senator also said that PDEA should verify their intelligence reports and if warranted, file cases against the erring barangay officials.
But Lacson lamented that because the agency has already release the narco list, those who were really involved could have hidden or destroyed the evidence linking them to the drug trade.
Earlier, the Palace said that PDEA released the list to warn the public and inform them on who not to vote into office in the upcoming barangay elections.
But Lacson countered that barangay residents themselves already knew those officials involved in illegal drugs, and will still continue to vote for them if they think the officials were included in the list for political reasons.
Lacson also warned that the PDEA itself could face charges if barangay officials complain because of their tarnished image.