PMA graduate, Ilocos Norte native is new chief of PDEA
President Marcos has named retired Police Maj. Gen. Isagani Nerez to head the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Presidential Communications Office said on Tuesday.
In a Viber message to reporters, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin confirmed the appointment of Nerez whom he swore in at Malacañang Palace on Tuesday.
He replaced retired Police Gen. Moro Virgilio Lazo, who had led PDEA since October 2022.
Malacañang did not provide a reason for the change in leadership. But Lazo had his share of controversies during his tenure, mainly for confirming during a Senate inquiry the existence of an alleged “reward system” among antidrug agents.
He claimed that some informants had told him they would prefer to get up to 30 percent of the narcotics seized based on their tips as their reward instead of cash incentives.
A native of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Nerez is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Maharlika Class of 1984.
Before his appointment to PDEA, he was undersecretary for police affairs at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs.
A lawyer, he held key positions in various Philippine National Police units, including the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response, and served with the PNP Special Action Force and PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group.
