Marcos appoints Moro Virgilio Lazo as new PDEA chief

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed retired police general Moro Virgilio Lazo as the new chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

This was confirmed by Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Cheloy Garafil on Thursday evening.

Lazo will replace Wilkins Villanueva as director general of the PDEA, the lead agency in the campaign against illegal drugs.

Lazo was named director of Special Action Force in March 2015.

He also served as a member of the Presidential Security Group under then president Fidel V. Ramos.

In a Facebook post, Villanueva said he is grateful to close his “two decades of professional service to God and country in the field of drug law enforcement.”

“I am blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve in various capacities from my humble beginnings as a junior officer of the Philippine Constabulary until the transition to the Philippine National Police and eventually my career move to hang my Police uniform in favor of a full-time career as one of the pioneering Directors of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency,” he said.

Villanueva said he will leave behind a “legacy of professional, dynamic, excellence-driven and accountable drug law enforcers” while “continuing to support the national anti-drug campaign in my private capacity.”—LDF, GMA News