The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) this Monday that the name of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was never on their drug watch list, contrary to the speech of former president President Rodrigo Duterte this Sunday.
“The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) categorically states that President Ferdinand R Marcos, Jr is not in its watch list, contrary to the statement of former President Rodrigo Duterte, claiming that ‘when he was the Mayor of Davao, he was shown evidence by PDEA that in the list, the name of the president was there,'” stated in a statement released by PDEA.
According to the PDEA, Duterte was mayor of Davao City from 1988 to 1998, from 2001 to 2010, and from 2013 to 2016.
“PDEA, on the other hand, was activated on July 30, 2002,” it said.
When the PDEA became active, the statement said the National Drug Information System (NDIS) was also developed.
“The NDIS is the intelligence database of all drug personalities, gathering inputs from counterparts in both law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Pursuant to its mandate under Republic Act 9165, or The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, PDEA regularly conducts intelligence workshops in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies to update the NDIS,” according to PDEA.
PDEA denies Pres. Marcos’ inclusion in drug watch list
“From its inception in 2002 and up to the present, President Ferdinand R Marcos, Jr was NEVER in our NDIS,” PDEA clarified.
According to the agency, Marcos’ name was also not on the narco list during Duterte’s tenure as president.
“It is worthwhile to note that, when the former President took over in 2016, his administration came out with a list, which was then initially called the ‘narco-list, sometimes referred to as the Duterte list’, and upon continuing validation and re-validation, it became the Inter-Agency Drug Information Database or IDID. The name of President Marcos is also not in the said list,” PDEA explained.
In the gathering against the People’s Initiative method of Charter change in Davao City this Sunday, Duterte said that the Marcoses want to stay in power for a long time. He also called the president “bangag.”
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.