INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno said suspected drug lord Melvin Odicta and his wife Merriam will reveal the names of government officials allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
The Iloilo couple met with Sueno at Camp Crame to clear their names and seek protection from retaliation by the persons they are naming.
They told Sueno that they have the lists of government officials involved in drug dealing operations, but the lists do not contain the names of senators or congressmen.
According to their lawyer, Raymund Fortun, the couple is not on the drug list of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Fortun said the couple did not submit a drug matrix because they didn’t have one. They only named individuals on the level of barangays, he said.
Meanwhile, Sueno clarified that the lists and other documents given by the couple were highly confidential and are now in the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
He also stressed that only President Duterte had the authority to divulge names involved in illegal drug operations.
Odicta allegedly led one of the two main drug groups operating in Iloilo and was on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency list of suspected drug personalities in Region 6.