Marcos Jr. no drug addict – Mayor Romualdez

TACLOBAN CITY: Mayor Alfred Romualdez reiterated on Wednesday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his cousin, “is no drug addict” and that he has no personal knowledge of the President taking cocaine or any illicit substance.

In a protest gathering organized by supporters in Davao City on January 28, former president Rodrigo Duterte blasted President Marcos and referred to him as a “drug addict.”

But Romualdez said this issue only surfaced when his cousin ran for president.

“I have known the President since we were young, although he is older than me,” Romualdez said in an earlier interview with the local media in Tacloban City.

“He was once a governor, a congressman and a senator, and this issue never came out, only when he ran for president,” Romualdez added.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency earlier said Marcos has never been on a watch list for illegal drug use.

“When Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ran for president, she was accused of being the daughter of a corrupt president, Diosdado Macapagal. When Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, son of President Corazon Aquino, also ran for president, he was called all sorts of names like Abnoy (abnormal), and now when Bongbong ran for president, he was accused of being a drug addict,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez replaced his aunt, Imelda Marcos, as Leyte’s 1st District representative in 1998.

He was later elected as Tacloban City mayor from 2007 to 2016, replacing his father and Imelda’s younger brother Alfredo, and has retained the position since 2019.

His wife and former actress Cristina Gonzales was mayor from 2016 to 2019.