MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that Naga City is a “hotbed of shabu” has yet to be verified, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) said Wednesday.

This, as Department of the Interior and Local Government Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año said the President may have received information which became the basis of his statement.

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DDB Chair Catalino Cuy said Duterte’s claim will still have to be verified by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

“Iyong information na iyan, per PDEA for validation iyong info na iyan (That information, per PDEA, is still for validation)," Cuy said.

"And another possible indication for that information is iyong (is the) percentage ng (of) barangay affectation in certain areas. So these are the ones being considered,” Cuy said in a Palace briefing.

While Cuy did not fully back Duterte’s claim, Año stressed that the chief executive has “his own sources” of information which law enforcement agencies may not yet know.

“These sources, ishini-share niya dito sa mga law enforcement group. Iyong sinabi niyang statement, there are bases for that (These sources, he shares with law enforcement groups. His statement, there are bases for that)," Año said, adding that validation of the President's information would continue.

In remarks on Tuesday, Duterte again expressed frustration over the persistence of the illegal drug trade in the country two years since he launched his heavily criticized war on drugs.

“You cannot do this overnight and you know, finish this problem; and even siguro (maybe) one year or two years – kaya nga sabi nga natin, baka hanggang 2022 (that's why we said this might continue until 2022),” Año said of Duterte’s frustrations.

Cuy, for his part, said the government will strive to end the drug scourge in the country by the end of the President's term in 2022.

"Well, it may not be possible or it may be difficult, but that is our target anyway. And with what we’re doing, with the cooperation of all sectors, whole-nation approach, who knows baka makuha natin iyan (we might achieve that)... We are confident," Cuy said.