Amid PDEA chief’s remarks, Robredo camp further doubts drug czar offer
Vice President’s spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez. Noy Morcoso/Inquirer.net File
MANILA, Philippines — Taking cue from the anti-drug law enforcement chief’s pronouncement, the camp of Vice President Lent Robredo has once again doubted President Rodrigo Duterte’s offer of a drug czar post.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Aaron Aquino on Monday said he thinks the Vice President “will fail” if she takes on the offer of President Rodrigo Duterte to take over and lead the administration war against illegal drugs.
Atty. Barry Gutierrez, spokesperson of Robredo, said the PDEA chief’s statements about the Vice President’s possible appointment as drug czar “reveals” the true motive of the Duterte administration in making such offer.
“Paano ka namang maniniwala na seryoso itong alok na maging ‘drug czar’ kung ngayon pa lang, sinisiraan na agad si VP Leni ng mga taong dapat magpapatupad ng kampanya laban sa droga?” Gutierrez pointed out also on Monday, hours after Aquino issued the remarks.
(How can you believe that this invitation for the Vice President to be a drug czar is serious if people supposedly implementing the campaign against illegal drugs are already undermining VP Leni?)
“Paano magiging maayos ang trabaho mo, kung ngayon pa lang, ‘yung taong makakasama mo sa trabaho ay ayaw kang magtagumpay? Mukhang nagiging malinaw kung ano talaga ang totoong agenda sa usapang ito,” he added.
(How will you do your job properly, if the people you will be working with do not want you to succeed? It seems that the true agenda behind this topic is becoming clearer.)
According to Aquino, Robredo will fail as a drug czar because she is not an expert on the illegal drugs issue.
“Well personally, if you ask me, sa palagay ko (I think) she will fail,” Aquino said Monday during an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source.
“I’ve been in the Philippine National Police for 36 years, I’ve been in PDEA for more than two years, it is only now that I became the director-general that I have known what the real problem is on illegal drugs,” he also said.
READ: PDEA chief thinks Robredo ‘will fail’ as drug czar
“Sa 36 years sa serbisyo ko sa pulis… dito ko lang lahat nalaman… The Vice President doesn’t have that, wala siyang kaalaman sa iligal na droga,” he added. /kga
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