Marcos lashes back at ex-PDEA ‘jukebox’

‘PROFESSIONAL LIAR’ Former drug enforcer Jonathan
Morales testifies at the Senate before President Marcos
lambasted him. —RICHARD A. REYES

A professional liar and a “jukebox” who would sing any tune for money.

This was how President Marcos on Friday described ex-narcotics agent Jonathan Morales, who linked him to illegal drugs.

In an interview with reporters in General Santos City, the President pointed to Morales’ spotty track record as a former cop with the Philippine National Police and ex-intelligence officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

“It’s hard to give importance to what he’s saying. You know, this fellow is a professional liar. He’s like a jukebox. As long as you drop money in him, he will sing any song you want,” Mr. Marcos said.

He then pointed to Morales’ record in the PNP and the PDEA. Morales was dismissed from the PNP and later from the PDEA for dishonesty, grave misconduct, robbery and extortion.

“He doesn’t make any sense. Just look at his record. He has a case of giving false testimony. He has a history of making allegations against people. That seems to be his livelihood, so for me he’s a professional liar,” the President said.

The Chief Executive made the remarks amid a Senate panel’s probe of a supposedly leaked PDEA pre-operation report in 2012 that mentioned the names of Mr. Marcos and actress Maricel Soriano.

Probe by Duterte aide

The investigation is being led by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs and the chief implementor of the bloody war on illegal drugs of former President Rodrigo Duterte that resulted in the killing of thousands of people.

Morales claimed to have signed the pre-operation report to be conducted at Soriano’s condominium unit in Makati City, where an illegal drugs session allegedly took place.

His credibility has been questioned by lawmakers from both chambers of Congress after Morales said he could no longer remember the name of his informant.

The PDEA also denied the leaked reports, saying they were “nonexistent” in their database and the President was never on their suspected drug watchlist.

The President has repeatedly dismissed accusations of his involvement in illegal drugs, which were recently made by Duterte, his predecessor.

It was not the first time Mr. Marcos was tagged in controversies involving drugs. Since he was a teenager in the 1970s, he has been tagged in rumors of drug use, often involving scions of wealthy families who were his friends, even at the height of martial law when rumor-mongering was a crime (Presidential Decree No. 90).

50-year-old claims

While he was studying in London in the 1970s, a bizarre rumor spread in the country claiming that he was killed in a nightclub brawl in London and the person who subsequently appeared in public was only a body double.

Fresh rumors of the supposed drug use by the 66-year-old leader reemerged only after his relations with Duterte started to sour.

In a protest rally in Davao City last January, Duterte criticized his successor for pushing Charter change and called him a “bangag” or stoned President.

A day later, Mr. Marcos remarked that Duterte’s verbal attacks might be attributed his previous use of fentanyl, an opioid and controlled substance, when he underwent surgery years ago.

Others surmise that Duterte’s intermittent tirades were spurred by his fears that the Marcos administration would allow the International Criminal Court to arrest him for crimes against humanity arising from his deadly drug war.