Ex-PDEA chief is new chairman of DDB

MANILA, Philippines -  The retired general often quoted by President Duterte to highlight the drug menace in the Philippines has been named head of the body tasked to craft policies on preventing and controlling substance abuse. 

Duterte has appointed former military chief Dionisio Santiago as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said yesterday.

Santiago served as Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director-general during the administrations of former presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III. He ran for senator during the 2016 polls but lost. 

“His (Santiago) expertise and advocacy is fighting illegal drugs, which became his platform when he ran in the last elections,” Abella said. 

“General Santiago’s return to the national government with his appointment to the DDB will greatly contribute to the President’s vision of a drug-free Philippines,” he added. 

Santiago will replace former DDB chairman Benjamin Reyes, who was dismissed by Duterte last May for supposedly “contradicting” the government. 

Citing figures from Santiago, Duterte claimed there were three million drug users in the Philippines five years ago. Reyes reported that there were only 1.8 million drug users based on the DDB’s 2015 Nationwide Survey on the Nature and Extent of Drug Abuse in the Philippines.

The report drew the ire of Duterte, who immediately dismissed Reyes from his post. 

“I would like to put to task publicly this Reyes,” Duterte said in a speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last May 24. “You’re fired today. Get out of the service. You do not contradict your own government.”

Duterte has repeatedly claimed that there are four million drug addicts in the Philippines to justify his iron fist approach to the narcotics problem. His approach has been criticized by human rights groups for allegedly encouraging summary killings.

Reports said 9,000 suspected drug offenders have died since Duterte assumed office last year but Malacañang dismissed them as “false news.” 

Abella said only close to 1,400 of the more than 6,000 deaths under investigation were related to illegal drugs. 

Duterte has said he would not stop his brutal war on illegal drugs until the last drug pusher or drug lord is out of the streets.