AS many expected from the beginning, Vice President Leni Robredo’s stint as “drug czar” may not last much longer.
Robredo, like the rest of the opposition, had been critical of the anti-drugs drive because of the thousands of deaths in the course of the police campaign. President Duterte had vowed to carry out the drive for three months, then to six months, and still much later extended to his entire six-year term when it turned out to be a much bigger problem than earlier thought.
In the face of continued opposition criticism, the President said on October 28 in Malacanang that if the vice president thinks she can do better, “I will surrender the power to enforce the law. I will give it to the vice president. I will let her have it for six months.” Robredo ignored the presidential offer.
On October 31, the President made the offer official. He issued a memorandum to Robredo: “Pursuant to the provisions of existing laws, rules and regulations, you are hereby designated as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs to lead the government’s efforts against illegal drugs until 30 June, 2022, unless sooner revoked.” Surprising every one, Vice President Robredo accepted the appointment.
She proceeded to meet with officials of the ICAD led by its chairman, Director-General Aaron Aquino of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. She also met with local officials of the United Nations and the United States to seek their support, she said, for the Philippine anti-drugs campaign. She was warned by administration officials that she should not disclose any “state secrets” to these foreign officials. She could be fired if she shares confidential information on the drugs war with other countries, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo warned.
Last Monday, Robredo assured that any sensitive information in her hands would be safe. But the Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa said there is no need for her to know who are the so-called “high-value targets of the anti-drugs drive; she should just focus on the rehabilitation of drug addicts. Law enforcement should be “left to those who know it, which is the PNP, POEA, the NBI for law enforcement and the Department of Justice for justice.” On the same day, the President said he had not appointed her to a cabinet position.
It certainly does not look like Vice President Robredo is an “anti-drugs czar,” as some people have been calling her. She is just co-chairman of the ICAD, the body leading the anti-drugs campaign, and its chairman continues to be the leading figure in the drive. Robredo was just in the news every day because she was taking steps that many thought the ICAD should be taking.
With such restrictions and with such reminders that she is not really the new “anti-drugs czar,” Robredo is not likely to continue with all her plans for the anti-drugs campaign. But she also is not likely to simply sit in her office and hold on to the position of vice-chairman without any real authority or powers.
