MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino to the board of directors of Clark International Airport Corporation, Malacañang said Wednesday.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Aquino was appointed as a member of Clark International Airport Corporation board of directors last May 22.
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The announcement came after Duterte named PDEA Northern Mindanao head Wilkins Villanueva as the new director general of the anti-narcotics agency.
“We thank Mr. Aquino for his immense contribution to the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs,” Roque said.
In an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel, Roque said Aquino’s transfer was “not a case of loss of trust and confidence.”
Aquino, a former police official, was appointed PDEA chief in August 2017.
Roque said Villanueva, who had also served as the chief of PDEA National Capital Region, “will lead PDEA and the fight against illegal drugs to greater heights with professionalism, passion and integrity.”
Government figures put the number of drug war casualties at 5,061 as of January 31. But the figure is significantly lower than the estimates by human rights watchdogs of as many as 27,000 killed. — Gaea Katreena Cabico