PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Poverty Alleviation (PAPA) Secretary Larry Gadon challenged the Philippine Drug Enforcement (PDEA) to file cases against individuals spreading “fake news” against the Marcos administration.

According to Gadon, people “hitting” the present leadership with unverified matters are still considered a “maligning glitch.”

“I strongly urged PDEA to file cases to act immediately and file cases against those spreading out fake news,” the poverty alleviation secretary said.

The PAPA head was referring to vloggers who kept on harping that they have a copy of PDEA watchlist that included the name of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

He said PDEA’s denial was not enough to stop the spread of fake news. He said that the integrity and credibility of the drug enforcement agency are being maligned and they need to address this.

The PDEA has issued a statement, contradicting former president Rodrigo Duterte who also claimed earlier that the agency showed him evidence, showing Marcos’ name in the supposed drug list when he was mayor of Davao.

PDEA however, countered that based on records, the agency was activated on July 30, 2002 when it established its National Drug Information System (NDIS) which serves as an intelligence database of all drug personalities that is responsible for gathering inputs from law enforcement and intelligence counterparts.

The agency also emphasized that President Marcos was never included in its NDIS ever since.

He told PDEA; “Your credibility and integrity is also being questioned here. If I were you, I would file cases against these people,” PAPA Gadon said, adding that it is not enough that the agency should only deny the authenticity of their document.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Joel dela Torre