Iloilo City Rep. Julienne Baronda is asking for the 2017 reports on illegal drugs from the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to erase the stigma attached to her city tagged as “the most shabulized city” by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
During her interpellation in the joint public hearing of the House committees on dangerous drugs, public order and safety, human rights and public accounts, Baronda said the Ilonggos have been stigmatized by the label which has allegedly undermined the image of the Ilonggos and their city.
Baronda said Iloilo City is known as the “City of Love,” adding she wanted to see the law enforcement agencies’ records of the top 50 local government units with high illegal drug incidents.
She also sought the PNP and PDEA’s list of local politicians involved in the illegal drug trade in 2017 “to put to rest the allegation against former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who was threatened to be killed for his purported involvement in the narcotics trade.
“The Ilonggos have been asking me about former Mayor Mabilog whenever I visit the barangays because they know he is innocent. The Ilonggos also want to set the record straight; we have drug cases, but these were not as massive as portrayed, the lawmaker said.
“We are not the most shabulized city. I believe that the former president was misinformed. That is why I sought proof or records from our law enforcement agencies. I only want justice and the truth for our city,” she stressed.
