Ex-PDEA chief Dionisio Santiago to head Dangerous Drugs Board

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has appointed retired general Dionisio R. Santiago as the new head of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), Malacañang announced on Sunday.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto C. Abella said the appointment of Mr. Santiago, a former head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), to the DDB “will greatly contribute to the President’s vision of a drug-free Philippines.”

“His expertise and advocacy (are) fighting illegal drugs, which became his platform when he ran in the last elections,” Mr. Abella also said of Mr. Santiago.

Mr. Santiago served as PDEA chief from 2006 to 2011, during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Before that, also during Ms. Arroyo’s presidency, he was the chief- of- staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP) from 2002 to 2003. Mr. Santiago ran for senator last year but lost.

The new DDB head will be the latest addition to the roster of former military men appointed by Mr. Duterte to government positions.

Mr. Santiago will replace Benjamin P. Reyes, who was publicly sacked by Mr. Duterte on May 24 for presenting different data on the number of drug users in the country that “contradicted” the government’s statistics. “You do not contradict your own government,” the President said of Mr. Reyes in a media interview.

Mr. Duterte, who launched a bloody war on narcotics, soon after his inauguration as president, often cites Mr. Santiago’s figure of “4 million drug addicts” in the Philippines.

But according to a 2015 survey by the DDB that Mr. Reyes cited in his presentation, there are 1.8 million current drug users in the country.

The DDB is tasked to formulate, develop and establish a comprehensive national drug use prevention and control strategy in the country.