By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Members of the local media in Negros Occidental issued a joint statement yesterday to denounce the “malicious drug list” circulating on social media, which named at least 15 media personalities.

In the statement, they cited “inconsistencies” and a “seeming lack of logic,” echoing a point made by incumbent Murcia Mayor Andrew Montelibano, who also appears on the list, regarding “conflicting parties out to destroy each other.”

They claimed those who crafted the list of muddling their tracks by “including random names.”

The group noted how the lists were labeled “subject for neutralization” and included Atty. Rafael Atutubo and former deputy Police Station 6 commander, Senior Police Officer 4 Oscar Exaltado, who were both murdered by still-unknown gunmen.

“This is unfortunate because, even as the war on drugs claimed thousands of lives all over the country, almost all of the victims were deprived of their right to due process.

They went on to call the lists “unacceptable,” saying, “No one, and we mean no one, should be subjected to trial by publicity and, worse, punished without being accorded due process.”

The statement also called on law enforcement and local government to uphold the rule of law.

“We demand that they investigate and get the cowards and criminals,” the statement declared./DGB, WDJ