Former DILG usec gets top DDB post

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed former Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Peace and Order Oscar Valenzuela as the new chairperson of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), the Presidential Communications Office announced on Friday.

Valenzuela will serve as the chairperson and a permanent member of the DDB. He replaces Catalino Cuy, who held the position of DDB chairperson since 2018.

Under Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, the DDB formulates policies and strategies for drug prevention and control.

The DDB is mandated to develop and adopt a comprehensive, integrated, unified, and balanced national drug abuse prevention and control strategy.

Valenzuela is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Marangal” Class of 1974 and a former police officer.

He held key assignments such as serving as Police Assistant Regional Director for Operations of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Police Provincial Director of Ilocos Norte.

After retiring from the Philippine National Police, Valenzuela served as the head of the National Terrorism Prevention Office within the Anti-Terrorism Council Program Management Center and as chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Counter-Terrorism Working Group.

He also led the Philippine delegation to the 2015 White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in Washington, DC.

Valenzuela served as undersecretary for Peace and Order at the department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and supported various initiatives under the National Anti-Drug Strategy, including the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Anti-Drug Advocacy Program.

He has consistently stressed the importance of a holistic and multi-sectoral approach to addressing illegal drugs, focusing on reducing demand, disrupting supply chains, and prioritizing the rehabilitation and reintegration of drug dependents into society.

Meanwhile, Marcos reappointed Roberto Manalo as the Philippines’ non-resident ambassador to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, in addition to his role as ambassador to Iran with concurrent jurisdiction over Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Also appointed were Philippine Ambassadors Christopher Montero (Indonesia), Elizabeth Te (Laos), and Domingo Nolasco (non-resident ambassador to Estonia, alongside his role as ambassador to Finland).

Montero, Te, and Nolasco were among the 19 foreign service officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs whose ad interim appointments were confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on Tuesday.

The President also appointed Pericles Dacay as head of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board, Desiderio Apag III as Commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education, Carmela Oracion as Education Assistant Secretary, Brian Mey Tomas as Local Government Assistant Secretary, Jorjette Aquino as PCO Undersecretary, and Josef Angelo Martires as Undersecretary for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

He also named Warren Miclat and Lenard Constantine Serrano as Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary, respectively, at the Department of Labor and Employment.

Additionally, the President appointed Jose Tomas Syquia as an acting member of the Cultural Center of the Philippines; Stephen Cruz, Wendell Dimaculangan, and Maura Regis as board members of the Philippine Postal Corporation; and Rosalina Garcia as an acting board member of the Light Rail Transit Authority, representing the private sector.

Samson Inocencio Jr. was appointed as a member of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, representing the children’s sector, while Ferdinand Ulalan was named a member of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Eastern Visayas, representing the workers’ sector.