Malacanang defended on Friday the disclosure of the list of 46 local officials, including three congressmen, who were allegedly involved in illegal drug activities.

This was after Leyte 3rd District Rep. Vicente Veloso and other local politicians included in the narco-list denied they were into illegal drugs.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told reporters in a text message that individual right is "subordinate" to the right of the state to secure and protect the public from the alleged wrongdoers.

He also said people have the constitutional right to be informed on matters concerning their welfare and health.

"The drug menace is a national security problem as it destroys the basic unit of our society, the family," he said.

Reiterating his earlier advice, Panelo, also the chief presidential legal counsel, said that those tagged as narco politicians could always go to court.

"As I have previously stated, there is always a remedy to judicial resort for those in the list who feel they have been injured by the announcement that their names are included in the list," he said.

Duterte, in a meeting in Davao City, revealed the names of the 46 "narco pols" after the Department of Interior and Local Government filed administrative complaints against them before the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday.

The disclosure of the names of alleged narco politicians came almost two months before the midterm elections.

Most of those in the narco-list would be running for the upcoming polls. Celerina Monte/DMS