New PDEA Director-General Wilkins Villanueva. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA- The country's new top drug buster Wilkins Villanueva is "no stranger" to drug law enforcement given his many years of working under the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Malacañang said Wednesday.
A former director of PDEA in Northern Mindanao, Villanueva assumed leadership of the agency after Aaron Aquino was "relieved" and transferred to the Clark International Airport Corporation.
"Villanueva is no stranger to drug law enforcement. He has been working with PDEA for many years before reaching the Agency's top position," Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.
"We therefore believe [Director-General] Villanueva will lead PDEA and the fight against illegal drugs to greater heights with professionalism, passion, and integrity," he added.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy "Sandiwa" Class of 1985, Villanueva previously served as Metro Manila director of PDEA, and also had a short stint at the Bureau of Customs in 2017.
Villanueva on Tuesday promised President Rodrigo Duterte that he would not fail the chief executive in his administration's main project--the war on drugs.
“My utmost gratitude to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for giving me his trust and confidence to lead our country's war on drugs. I will never fail you Mr. President!" Villanueva wrote.
PDEA, war on drugs, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Wilkins Villanueva, Malacañang