Police Brigadier General Oscar Fader Valenzuela (Ret) was appointed as the 24th Chairperson of the Dangerous Drugs Board by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., on 23 January 2025.

A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy “Marangal” Class of 1974, he handled various positions of responsibility in the Philippine Military, Philippine National Police, and in the civilian government.

As a young military officer in the 1970s, he served with the Presidential Guards – Philippine Constabulary, a unit of the then Presidential Security Command. He was later assigned to various units of the Ilocos Norte Philippine Constabulary and Integrated National Police in 1982 to 1986. In 1997, under his leadership as Philippine National Police Provincial Director, the Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office garnered the “Best PNP Provincial Office” nationwide, a feat unequalled up to the present time.

Upon his retirement from the PNP in 2007, he joined the civilian government as an Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) from 2007 to 2010, where he was designated as the permanent representative of the DILG Secretary to the Dangerous Drugs Board. This experience became very handy for him when in 2022 to 2024, as an Undersecretary of the DILG, he was again designated as the permanent representative of the DILG Secretary to the DDB. During that period, he actively participated in discussions and deliberations of policies and programs on drug abuse prevention and control.

He also served in 2012 to 2016 as the head of the Anti-Terrorism – Program Management Center, an office under the Anti-Terrorism Council headed by the Executive Secretary of the Philippines.

He has proven his mettle in international collaboration when he ably steered the Counter Terrorism Working Group of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) as its Chairman in 2015 to 2016.

He headed the Philippine Delegation to the ‘White House’ Summit on Preventing Violent Extremism in 1995, and the succeeding world regional summits on preventing violent extremism, eventually resulting to the issuance by the United Nations of the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism.

In 2012 to 2013, he chaired the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) ‘Experts Working Group’ on the crafting of ASEAN Convention of Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP), particularly for women and children, which eventually was adopted by the ASEAN in 2015.

In July 2024, he participated in the Philippine Drug Policy and Law Reform Summit aimed to recommend key reforms on existing drug laws, crafting a roadmap towards more human rights-based and health-centered drug policies.

Police Brigadier General Valenzuela (Ret) was born in Paoay and is a proud son of Ilocos Norte.