TACURONG CITY (MindaNews / 10 Aug) – Offended and pained.
This was how Agnes Pantorilla, wife of the late PO1 Phillip Pantorilla of the Tacurong City police office, described the inclusion of her husband in President Rodrigo Duterte’s list of drug lords and drug protectors.
Her husband died more than two years ago.
“It is not true my husband was an illegal drug protector. He is already dead and yet his name was dragged into this,” said Pantorilla.
PO1 Pantorilla, one of the 159 persons named by Duterte as drug protectors or drug lords, died January 2014 due to kidney ailments.
His widow lamented that with so many people into illegal drugs, why did the President included the late policeman in the list. “I am sure he was not into illegal drug when he was still alive, sadly his name was included into this controversy,” Mrs. Pantorilla said.
“But I don’t blame President Duterte, he was just provided with wrong information,” she added.
“If Philip was a drug protector, we may be living lavishly now,” she said. “Look, we are still poor.”
Mrs. Pantorilla said she only managed to get hold of a huge amount of money when her husband secured a loan from a government bank when he was still in active service.
Pantorilla was among those 159 persons named publicly by President Duterte, including policemen, local officials and members of the judiciary, in the illegal drug trade.
Twenty-nine of the 98 police officers named by the President are still in active service. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)