President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appointed former Special Action Force (SAF) director Moro Virgilio Lazo as the new head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), according to a Philippine News Agency report quoting Office of the Press Secretary Officer in Charge Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil on Thursday.

Lazo will replace Wilkins Villanueva, the current director general of the PDEA, which serves as the government’s lead agency against illegal drugs. Lazo will be the eighth director general of the anti-narcotic agency.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy “Maharlika” Class of 1984, Lazo joined the SAF and then served as a member of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) under the Ramos administration.

He also served as chief of the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office; provincial police director of Benguet and Cagayan; and regional director for Central Luzon, prior to his service as SAF director in March 2015.

Marcos vowed to continue the anti-illegal drugs campaign, but emphasized the approach will be different, to include focusing on the treatment and rehabilitation of drug users.

In a Facebook post, the outgoing Villanueva shared a copy of Lazo’s signed appointment paper, while expressing his gratitude to the agency.

“It is with profound gratitude that I close my two decades of professional service to God and country in the field of drug law enforcement,” he said in his Facebook post.

“My profound thanks also to His Excellency President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. for allowing me to continue serving as the seventh Director General until my worthy successor was appointed as of October 19, 2022,” Villanueva added.

Leaving behind a “legacy of professional, dynamic, excellence-driven and accountable drug law enforcers,” Villanueva vowed to continue supporting the Marcos administration’s campaign against illegal drugs. 

Photo Credit: Twitter/DirectorSAF