Malacaang has said that there is no legal impediment for President Duterte to be offered the next administration’s anti-drug czar position to lead the campaign against illegal drugs which he started.
Acting deputy presidential spokesman Michel Kristian Ablan made this point at a press briefing while responding to president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement that he is open to the possibility of having Duterte as his “anti-drug czar” even as he has not indicated that he was still interested in leading the war on drugs.
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President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he was “open” to appointing Duterte, “if he wants to,” as his drug czar.
“When it comes to that, there is no legal impediment for a former president to assume an executive position in the executive branch,” said Kris Ablan. “Now whether President Duterte will accept, that is up to him,” Ablan added.
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Marcos, however, did not say whether there would be such a position in his administration, but Duterte had said he would insist on a continuation of the drug war and vowed to remain active fighting illegal drugs after demitting office.
“I hope that… the next administration would maybe (exert) a stronger pressure (against drug syndicates) compared to what I did. The drugs keep on coming back. I would say and I would insist, during the tail-end of my administration, that I did the right thing. I won’t back down. No apologies,” he said.
