MANILA (UPDATED) -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has named retired Major General, Atty. Isagani Nerez as the new chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Tuesday. 

Nerez, who replaced former PDEA Chief Moro Virgilio Lazo, took his oath in Malacañang.

Lazo had held the post since October 2022.

Prior to his appointment, Nerez, a member of Philippine Military Academy Maharlika Class of 1984, served as Undersecretary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Police Matters.

He also served in the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response, Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Eastern Mindanao, Special Action Force, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, and Anti-Kidnapping Group.

He also served as the chief of the Baguio City Police Office and later as Chief Superintendent of the Cordillera Police Regional Office.