PDEA: Mayors can only have access to drug watchlist within their area

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A politician or a local government official may only have access to the drug watchlist within his area of jurisdiction, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) clarified on Monday.

PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon said this when reporters asked if local chief executives, particularly mayors, have access to the agency’s drug watchlist.

The question was in connection with the controversial claim of former President Rodrigo Duterte Sunday night that he saw the name of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. included in the PDEA drug watch list back when he was mayor of Davao City.

“Perhaps if we were to surmise the level of coverage of authority of a mayor, if we were to speak local authorities, he will only have access within the area of his political unit. This means he will not be able to see personalities outside his political or local government unit,” Carreon said in a press conference.

“Depending on the level of authority, you shouldn’t have access to something outside your sphere of influence,” he added.

Earlier, the PDEA said in a statement that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was never on the government watch list for illegal drugs, as it pointed out that Duterte had his own narco-list when he became president in 2016.

The agency said it merely revalidated Duterte’s list, which became the  Inter-Agency Drug Information Database.

Conversely, Marcos laughed off the former president’s allegations, saying that he “won’t even dignify the question.”