PDEA: Marcos was never on our drug watch list

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Monday said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was never on its drug watch list, contrary to what former President Rodrigo Duterte said on 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,'" the agency said in a statement.

PDEA said ex-President 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.

The agency further said that when it was activated, it established the National Drug Information System (NDIS) which still exists today.

"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," it said.

"From its inception in 2002 and up to the present, President Ferdinand R Marcos, Jr was NEVER in our NDIS," PDEA said.

PDEA also said that Marcos' name was not on the narco list the Duterte administration came out with during the ex-President's term.

"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 said.

"Based on all the foregoing facts, the PDEA asserts that President Marcos, Jr is not and was never in its watch list," it added.

GMA News Online contacted the Palace for comment but has yet to receive a reply. It also contacted Duterte's former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea to get the ex-President's comments.

Duterte on Sunday blasted the people's initiative to amend the Constitution, accusing the Marcoses of trying to perpetuate themselves in power and calling Marcos "bangag."

The former president spoke at a prayer rally in Davao City, held on the same day Marcos held his Bagong Pilipinas kickoff rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

He also accused Marcos of being a drug addict and said what happened to his father, Ferdinand Sr.—who was ousted from power in 1986 by the People Power Revolution—might happen to him as well.

"Nung ako mayor, pinakitaan ako ng evidence ng PDEA. Doon sa listahan, nandoon yung pangalan mo," he said, referring to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. "Ayaw kong sabihin 'yan kasi magkaibigan tayo. Kung 'di man magkaibigan, magkakilala. Eh ikaw eh, pumapasok kayo nang alanganin. Mr. President, baka susunod ka sa dinaanan ng tatay mo. Diyan ako takot. Ayaw ko mangyari sa iyo 'yan. Ako lang nagmamakaawa kasi it will divide the nation at madugo itong panahong ito," he added.

(When I was mayor, PDEA showed me evidence. Your name was on the list. I did not want to say that because we are friends. If not friends, then acquaintances. But you are charting a different path. Mr. President, you might follow the footsteps of your father. That's what I am afraid of. I don't want that to happen to you. I am appealing to you because it [people's initiative] will divide the nation and these are hard times.) —with reports from Anna Felicia Bajo and Giselle Ombay/KG, GMA Integrated News