Ex-Marawi City mayors refute drug lord tag

MARAWI CITY --- Siblings Solitario Ali and Fahad Salic are optimistic President Rodrigo Duterte will have his list of top drug suspects in the country revalidated, insinuating their names have wrongly been included in his roster of offenders.
Ali had served as mayor of Marawi City, capital of Lanao del Sur, for two consecutive terms while his younger brother, Salic, was elected chief executive of the same city for three consecutive terms and whose third elective tenure ended last June 30, 2016.Ali and Salic on Monday wrote Duterte, denying any involvement in drug trafficking.Salic said he has never indulged in narcotics trade and has not even tried to sniff methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu), touted as poor man’s cocaine,” even once.Relatives had told the and//www.ndbcnews.com.ph/ www.ndbcnews.com.ph that Ali and Salic are open to talks with Duterte anytime if given the chance to prove they were wrongly tagged as drug lords.The sources said one reason why the duo cannot immediately travel to Manila to meet with Duterte and Director Ronald dela Rosa of the Philippine National Police is the absence of security escorts necessary to ensure their safety.Ali and Salic lost in their bids for the Marawi City mayoral post and the gubernatorial seat of Lanao del Sur, respectively, during the May 9 elections. The recent elections in Marawi City and in Lanao del Sur were hostile. These two clan leaders are now vulnerable to their rivals knowing that they are now ordinary citizens virtually bereft of protection,” said a relative, who asked not to be identified.The son of Ali, Arafat, who is incumbent vice-mayor of Marawi City, also tagged by Duterte as drug lord, on Monday met with Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno in Metro Manila and denied involvement in any drug business.