Duterte fires drugs board chief for 'contradicting' government

Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday fired Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman Benjamin Reyes for supposedly contradicting the government’s official data on drug addicts in the country.“I would like to put to task publicly this Reyes,” an angry Duterte told reporters upon his arrival from Russia Wednesday.Duterte said he was irked when Reyes, citing a DDB survey, cited data that there were only 1.8 million drug users in the country during a forum attended by United Nations special rapporteur Agnes Callamard.The President said Reyes contradicted the government when he used this figure. He said there were now about 4 million drug users in the country.“You’re fired today. Get out of the service. You don’t contradict your own government,” he said.“If you are there, you are just a civilian member of the board. You are not the implementor of the law. The correct count is [with] the police and PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency).”Duterte had previously said there were 3 million drug addicts in the country, citing figures from former PDEA chief Dionisio Santiago.The president, now pursuing a fierce anti-drug war, now pegs the number of drug users to be at 4 million. This figure has also been officially adopted by the government.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/05/25/1.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">An infographic from the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s Twitter account pegging the number of drug users at 4 million.</div></figcaption></figure></div>Duterte’s claim on the number of drug addicts were scrutinized, partly because of the availability of the DDB survey conducted from January 2015 to February 2016 which showed that there were only 1.8 million drug users in the country.<ul class="op-related-articles" title="Read:">	<li>Read: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/23/17/how-many-drug-users-are-there-in-ph-ddb-chief-defends-varying-figures">How many drug users are there in PH? DDB chief defends varying figures </a></li></ul>

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday fired Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman Benjamin Reyes for supposedly contradicting the government’s official data on drug addicts in the country.

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday fired Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman Benjamin Reyes for supposedly contradicting the government’s official data on drug addicts in the country.

Duterte fires drugs board chief for 'contradicting' government | ABS-CBN

Entertainment

News

Metro.Style

Sports

More

News

Duterte fires drugs board chief for 'contradicting' government

Duterte fires drugs board chief for 'contradicting' government

Dharel Placido,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 25, 2017 04:33 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

Benjamin Reyes

drug war statistics

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Advertise with Us

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.