MANILA (UPDATED) — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) denied Monday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was in its watch list, contrary to the claims of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte on Sunday night accused Marcos Jr. of being a "drug addict", saying the PDEA showed him a list while he was mayor of Davao City.

“Bongbong, bangag yan. May drug addict tayo na president,” Duterte claimed.

“Noong ako ay mayor, pinakitaan ako ng evidence ng PDEA. Doon sa listahan, nandoon yung pangalan mo. Ayaw kong sabihin yan kasi magkaibigan tayo," he said.

"Kung hindi magkaibigan, magkakilala… eh ikaw eh, pumapasok kayo ng alanganin. Mr. President, baka susunod ka sa dinaanan ng tatay mo. Diyan ako takot, ayaw kong mangyari sa iyo 'yan.”

In response, PDEA said that from its inception in 2002 and up to the present, "President Ferdinand R Marcos, Jr was NEVER in our National Drug Information System (NDIS)."

The NDIS refers to the intelligence database of all drug personalities, gathering inputs from counterparts in both law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

"Pursuant to its mandate under Republic Act 9165, or The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, PDEA regularly conducts intelligence workshops in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies to update the NDIS," PDEA said in a statement.

The agency also noted that when President Duterte was in office in 2016, his administration came out with a "narco-list" of suspected drug personalities.

"Upon continuing validation and re-validation, it became the Inter-Agency Drug Information Database or IDID. The name of President Marcos is also not in the said list," PDEA said.

"Based on all the foregoing facts, the PDEA asserts that President Marcos, Jr is not and was never in its watch list."

PDEA HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE

In a press conference, PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon reiterated that Marcos is not and was never in their drug watch list.

Carreon said the statement was based on facts and had nothing do to with their position or work under the Office of the President

"Not because we're under the Office of the President, we will favor the President. [It's] because the facts are clearly stated. Wala po siya sa listahan. Even with the previous supposed narco list," Carreon said.

Carreon also said that access to the drug watch list is restricted to mostly personnel from the agency's intelligence group.

Politicians can only see the watchlist for the area under their jurisdiction, he also said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police has "not seen any document" linking Marcos to narcotics, said its spokesperson PCol. Jean Fajardo.

FENTANYL

Marcos on Monday said former President Rodrigo Duterte's recent verbal attacks against him could have been prompted by the alleged use of a powerful opioid painkiller.

"I think it's the fentanyl," Marcos said.

"Fentanyl is the strongest painkiller that you can buy. It's highly addictive, and it has very serious side effects. PRRD has been taking the drug for a very long time now... I hope his doctors take better care of him," Marcos told reporters.

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Criticized internationally for his bloody war on drugs, Duterte revealed in 2016 that he used to take fentanyl due to a spinal injury from motorcycle accidents.

PDEA's Carreon did not comment on Duterte's alleged fentanyl use.

But Carreon noted that fentanyl can only be prescribed by doctors with S2 licenses that authorize them to write prescriptions for dangerous drug preparations and controlled substances.

"Fentanyl is a regulated drug by virtue of the United Nations, but I can’t further comment on this... It’s like Valium, used to calm yung mga pasyente na nangangailangan ng gamot na yon, similarly situated. Just like morphine, yung mga pang pain management," he said.

CANDIDATE USING COCAINE?

In 2021, Duterte also questioned the qualifications of one presidential contender, who he claimed was an "illegal drug user". He did not directly name Marcos Jr. at that time.

"There’s even a presidential candidate na nag-cocaine... May kandidato tayo na nagko-cocaine ‘yan, mga anak ng mayaman," Duterte said in a speech in 2021.

• Duterte says one presidential contender into cocaine; a 'very weak leader'

Marcos Jr. later said he took a drug test in response to Duterte's allegations.

Marcos said that while "I really don’t feel that I am the one being alluded to" by Duterte, he believed it was his "inherent duty as an aspiring public official to assure my fellow Filipinos that I am against illegal drugs."

"This is why I took a cocaine test yesterday and the result was submitted this morning to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the office of the Chief of the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation," he said in a statement.

Marcos Jr. said he took the drug test at a hospital and he tested negative for drug use.

"I am, and will remain, a vigilant anti-illegal drugs campaigner," Marcos said.

— With reports from Hernel Tocmo, Zyann Ambrosio, and Raya Capulong, ABS-CBN News