MANILA - A lawmaker named in President Rodrigo Duterte's narco-list said Friday he will file charges against officials who validated the list for "unduly injuring" his reputation, saying the accusation was baseless and politicized.

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The list tagged Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso and 45 other officials as narcopoliticians, 2 months before the 2019 midterm elections.

"I have been unduly injured by this list and those responsible for the inclusion of my name in that list must be sued criminally, must be penalized criminally," Veloso told ANC's Early Edition.

"Itong nag-file sila ng complaint sa Ombudsman, it's a smokescreen para hindi sila ma-libel," he said.

(They filed a complaint before the Ombudsman as a smokescreen so that they would not be sued for libel.)

"We should have waited for probable cause ng Ombudsman. They did not wait for that so that is highly irregular, that is illegal," he said.

He earlier said he has been cleared by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and by self-confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa of any links to narcotics.

• Politicians in Duterte's new narco-list deny involvement in illegal drugs

Veloso, a former court judge and an ally of the President, said he was included in the list due to politicking.

"Didiretsuhin ko na, pulitika ito at ang kalaban ko sa pulitika hindi ang presidente," he said.

(I will go straight to the point, this is politics and my political nemesis is not the President.)

"Wala kaming problema ni President but pag dating sa narco-list na ito, I will question its validity, its legality," he said.

(The President and I have no problems, but when it comes to this narcolist, I will question its validity, its legality.)

• 'Hindi ako drug lord': Veloso questions basis of Duterte's new 'narco list'