PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday named retired major general Isagani Nerez as director general of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), according to the Presidential Communications Office.
In a statement, the agency said the retired general will replace former Special Actions Forces chief Moro Virgilio Lazo, who served in his post since Oct. 2022.
Mr. Nerez took his oath before Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin on Tuesday.
The new PDEA chief is a lawyer and law enforcer who previously served as Baguio City police chief and a member of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force and Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group.
The government estimates that at least 6,117 people were killed in the previous administration’s deadly drug war between July 1, 2016, and May 31, 2022, but human rights groups say the death toll could be as high as 30,000. — John Victor D. Ordoñez