Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa confirmed that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. was never included in any narco-list when he was chief of the Philippine National Police, contradicting allegations made by former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In radio interview, Dela Rosa said that during his entire stint as the country’s top cop, he never saw President Marcos’ name in any list of personalities involved in the illegal drug trade.

“When I was Chief PNP, I have not seen the name of the President,” said Dela Rosa, adding that Marcos was never investigated nor suspected of illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa’s statement concurs with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency which also belied the former President’s claim, stressing that Marcos’ name was never included ever since the National Drug Information System or NDIS was created.

“Based on all the foregoing facts, the PDEA asserts that President Marcos Jr. is not and was never in its watchlist,” the PDEA said in a statement.

“It is worthwhile to note that, when the former President took over in 2016, his administration came out with a list, which was then initially called the ‘narco-list, sometimes referred to as the Duterte list, and upon continuing validation and re-validation, it became the Inter-Agency Drug Information Database, or IDI,” it added.