The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) refuted President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was part of its drug watch list.
The agency issued a statement on Monday morning, categorically denying Duterte’s assertion and emphasizing that Marcos was never on their National Drug Information System (NDIS) since its inception in 2002.
“From its inception in 2002 and up to the present, President Ferdinand R Marcos, Jr was never in our NDIS,” PDEA stated, clarifying that NDIS is an intelligence database containing information on drug personalities sourced from law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Additionally, PDEA pointed out that Marcos’ name did not feature in the “narco list” released during Duterte’s administration.
The agency firmly asserted, “Based on all the foregoing facts, the PDEA asserts that President Marcos, Jr is not and was never on its watch list.”
The controversy arose during an “anti-Charter change” prayer rally in Davao City, coinciding with the “Bagong Pilipinas Kickoff Rally” at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, both attended by Vice President Sara Duterte.
At the Davao rally, Duterte accused Marcos of being a drug addict, stating, “Bongbong, bangag yan…may drug addict tayo ng presidente” (Bongbong is high…we have a president who is a drug addict).
Responding to these accusations, Marcos laughed off the claims during an ambush interview before departing for Vietnam. When asked to categorically deny the “drug addict” allegation, Marcos simply stated, “I won’t dignify the question.”
Moreover, Marcos attributed Duterte’s remarks to his use of Fentanyl, a potent painkiller that the former president admitted to using in 2016 due to spinal column pain following motorcycle accidents.
Marcos commented, “I think it is the Fentanyl. Fentanyl is the strongest painkiller that you can buy.”
In 2019, Duterte mentioned that his doctor had advised him to stop using Fentanyl after learning about the alleged abuse of the drug, exceeding the prescribed patches.
The Daily Netizen 