PHILIPPINE Drug Enforcement Agency chief Wilkins Villanueva on Sunday night said there is nobody seeking a national elective position in the 2022 elections using illegal drugs.
Villanueva made the statement during an interview with CNN Philippines, belying an earlier pronouncement by President Duterte that a presidential aspirant is using cocaine.
“So far, in our data, there is no national, there is no aspirant for national position in our database,” Villanueva said after he was asked if the PDEA database on illegal drug users can confirm Duterte’s pronouncement a few weeks ago.
Duterte did not name the aspirant but described the candidate as a “weak leader” who derives political influence from his father.
Former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he didn’t feel alluded to although he took a cocaine test that yielded a negative result. Presidential candidates Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno also submitted themselves to drug tests and both came out clean.
Villanueva implied the President may have received his information on the aspirant from other sources.
“We all know that when he was still the mayor of Davao City, the President had a vast source of information,” he said, adding the President will not say anything about the issue if he has no basis.
Villanueva said the President is a lawyer and would not say anything that would destroy his reputation. “He knows what he is saying and he knows what he is doing, so we leave it to him,” Villanueva said. “It’s his decision.”
Villanueva said the President’s remarks had a silver lining fine because some of the aspirants went through drug tests.
During the same interview, PNP chief Dionardo Carlos said the PNP continues to check its records about the alleged cocaine-using aspirant.
If the aspirant’s name is on their list, Carlos said “we will do our best to implement the law.”
Carlos agreed with Villanueva that the President’s statement brought a positive outcome.
