MANILA - Twenty-six politicians with alleged links to the illegal drug trade were among the winners for local posts in the midterm elections.

Data gathered by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group showed that out of the 46 local officials accused by President Rodrigo Duterte of being involved in the illegal drug trade, 36 ran for various local positions and 26 of them won.

Of the 26 winners, 18 were reelected, while the remaining 8 were incumbent vice mayors or mayors who ran for different positions in the midterm polls and won.

The winners tagged in the narco list include 18 mayors, three vice mayors, two congressmen, one vice governor, one provincial board member, and one councilor.

In terms of political parties, PDP-LABAN, National People’s Coalition, Nacionalista Party, have six each, National Unity Party and LAKAS have two each, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan has one, while the rest ran as independent.

Among the winners, 10 have already been previously tagged in the narco lists that the President announced in 2016. A number of those who were tagged have already denied their involvement in illegal drugs

PNP’s data slightly differs from that of ABS-CBN’s Investigative and Research Group.

Police General Oscar Albayalde, chief of the PNP, earlier said of the 47 local politicians included in the narco-list, 37 sought local government posts while 27 won.

• PNP says 27 drug-linked politicians won in midterm polls