Malacañang said yesterday Vice President and drug czar Leni Robredo should go to Congress if she wants an increase in the budget of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs because the national budget for 2020 has been submitted to the Legislative branch.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said it would be hard to increase the budget since it has been prepared last year.
He suggested that the ICAD co-chairperson should go directly to the Senate and House of Representatives for possible realignment.
“Not in this budget, because that has been already prepared in the previous year, kailangan niya siguro Kongreso,” he said. “Nangako naman yata iyong mga ibang Senador at saka Kongresista sa kanya,” he added.
Robredo had earlier said the proposed R15-million budget for the ICAD for 2020 was insufficient considering its wide responsibilities. She also sought funds to implement the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drug Strategy, a program developed by the Dangerous Drugs Board.
According to the Vice President, Sen. Ping Lacson has committed to work on increasing the funding of ICAD agencies during budget deliberations at the Senate, telling her to just inform him of what the agency needs.
House Speaker Alan Cayetano also expressed willingness to augment ICAD’s budget but appealed to Robredo to stop announcing her plans to the public because drug lords may find the information she releases as useful.
“You need more funds? ‘Wag mo nang sabihin sa media. Malalaman pa ng mga drug lords na dadagdagan ka ng pondo o saan ilalagay eh. Makipag-meeting ka sa Kongreso, we will give you the funds kung kinakailangan,” he said. (Genalyn Kabiling)
