Wed, Jan 08, 2020 page6

• Vice president says Philippine anti-drug campaign a failure

  • AP, MANILA
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  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs has failed to substantially eradicate the menace and ensnare major drug lords and should be reformed to prevent further bloodshed, the country’s vice president said on Monday.

  Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo, who leads the opposition, also called for a stop to the dreaded police practice of home inspections that have led only to the killings of petty drug suspects.

  It was the latest criticism by the vice president of Duterte’s notorious crackdown and is likely to deepen the political divide between the two leaders.

  Presidents and vice presidents are elected separately in the Philippines, resulting in candidates from rival parties like Duterte and Robredo ending up in the country’s top leadership and often colliding on policies.

  Only about 1 percent of the estimated supply of methamphetamine, a powerful banned stimulant locally known as shabu, has been seized in the past three years since the crackdown was launched by Duterte when he took office in mid-2016, Robredo said.

  “Very clearly, based on official data, despite the killings of Filipinos and all the money spent, the amount of shabu and drug money we’ve seized has not gone beyond 1 percent of those in circulation,” Robredo told a news conference.

  “If we really want to end the scourge of illegal drugs, we need to run after the big suppliers and not just the small-time pushers,” she said, adding that the campaign would not succeed unless it is reformed to be more strategic, better organized and closely supervised in all aspects by the president.

  Her remarks were largely based on information gathered during a brief stint in a government anti-drugs committee, which Duterte last year asked her to help lead after being piqued by her constant criticisms of his bloody crackdown.

  Robredo surprisingly accepted the offer, but Duterte fired her after 18 days after she started seeking confidential information about the campaign.

  Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo dismissed Robredo’s statements, saying that Duterte’s campaign has succeeded in closing many drug laboratories and forcing the surrender of a large number of drug suspects.

  Big-time drug lords have also been neutralized, Panelo said, although he failed to immediately provide a list of those key drug personalities.

  “If you noticed, when she was threatening to release this report, she implied that there were some irregularities discovered, a bomb that would explode on your face. It’s a dud,” Panelo told reporters.

  Robredo, a 54-year-old former human rights lawyer and political newcomer, has openly criticized the campaign against illegal drugs launched by Duterte, a long-time city mayor and state prosecutor known for his extra tough approach against criminality and brash speaking style.

  Robredo has said that she accepted Duterte’s offer to help oversee the crackdown, despite warnings by her advisers and allies, so she that might be able to save lives under the campaign.

  One of her first moves was to request confidential documents from law enforcers, including a list of key drug suspects targeted under Duterte’s campaign.

  Duterte warned Robredo about sharing confidential information about the campaign with his foreign critics, including human rights advocates.
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