Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has confirmed that President Marcos was never included in any narco-list when he was chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), contradicting the allegation made by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In an interview, Dela Rosa said that during his entire stint as the country’s top cop, he never saw President Marcos’ name in any list of personalities involved in the illegal drug trade.
“Wala akong nakita. May mga chismis lang, pero sa aking mga listahan noong ako ay Chief PNP, wala akong nakita (I didn’t see anything. There was gossip, but for the lists I saw when I was Chief PNP, I didn’t see anything),” Dela Rosa said.
When asked if President Marcos was ever investigated nor suspected of illegal drugs, the former PNP chief said: “Wala. Hindi namin siya inimbestigahan. (None. We never investigated him.)”
Dela Rosa’s statement concurs with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which also belied the former President’s claim, stressing that Marcos’ name was never included ever since the National Drug Information System or NDIS was created.
“Based on all the foregoing facts, the PDEA asserts that President Marcos Jr. is not and was never in its watchlist,” the PDEA said in a statement, contradicting Duterte, who claimed that the agency showed him evidence showing Marcos’ name in the supposed drug list.
“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 IDI,” the PDEA said.
“The name of President Marcos is also not in the said list,” the agency added.
Likewise, Senator Imee Marcos said that Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte has apologized to him for calling for the resignation of President Marcos.
“Mayor Baste approached me to say sorry over and over again. I understood him for being emotional because of concerns that his father and sister may be arrested,” Senator Marcos said in an interview. With Macon Ramos-Araneta
Bato contradicts Rody, confirms President Marcos not in narco-list
