PRESIDENT Marcos has appointed a retired police general as the new chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), which is under the Office of the President (OP).

The new top honcho of DDB is General Oscar Valenzuela, a member of Maragtas Class of 1974 of the elite Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

DDB is the government’s main agency tasked to formulate national policies and strategies against the illegal drug menace in the country.

Note that the drug menace remains as one of the major headaches of national and local government authorities as well as the Filipino people.

Prior to his new position, Valenzuela was undersecretary for peace and order of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

He was a strong advocate of the government’s grassroots anti-illegal drug programs.

These included the Barangay Drug Clearing Program and the Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) Program and the “Adbokasiya Laban sa Iligal na Droga.”

With Valenzuela at the helm of DDB, the people expect the government to further intensify its efforts to slay the drug monster.

Everybody is hopeful that the government and the private sector work in unison to finally rid the country of prohibited drugs.

Not only that. The government, through DDB, is also seen to come up with highly-effective measures aimed at rehabilitating drug dependents.

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