MANILA, Philippines — She might “baby” the drug lords.
So said Senator Christopher “Bong” Go even as he expressed hope for Vice President Leni Robredo to succeed in her role in the drug war.
“Gusto naming mag-succeed siya pero natatakot po ako na mas lalong dadami yung inosenteng mabibiktima nitong drogang ito, hindi sila matatakot eh, ibe-baby mo ang mga yan,” Go told reporters at the Senate on Wednesday.
(We want her to succeed but we’re afraid that there will be more victims of the drug menace because the drug lords will no longer be afraid..you will baby them.)
READ: Robredo accepts Duterte’s drug czar post
“‘Di mo takutin, di mo patayin, e di dadami yan. Ilang presidente nang dumating dito sa atin, nabawasan ba ang mga drug lord? Nabawasan ba ang naging biktima ng droga? Lalong dumami. Ngayon lang po ito nabawasan ni Pangulong Duterte,” he added.
(If you don’t frighten them, kill them, the perpetrators will proliferate. Presidents come and go but have you seen a decline in the number of drug lords and victims of drugs? The problem worsened. It’s only now that President Duterte put a dent on the drug menace.)
Robredo had accepted the position to co-chair the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) which was earlier offered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
During a press conference, the vice president said she was against the killings of innocent lives under the administration’s drug war.
She said one of the things she considered in accepting the post was the lives she could possibly save if she would have a hand in the drug war.
“She want to save innocent lives, ngayon ilang inosenteng Pilipino kaya (how many innocent people, I wonder), ilang milyong inosenteng Pilipino ang magiging biktima nito, ako naman po ang magbibilang sa July 1, 2022 (How many millions of innocent people would become victims. I’ll count on July 1, 2022),” Go went on.
But when Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was asked about Go’s claim that Robredo may treat drug lords as “babies,” he said: “We will wait and see, [it’s difficult to] predict.”
For Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, he said Robredo should first be given the chance to do her work before assumptions could be made against her.
“Bakit hindi natin pagbigyan? Allow her to perform her work, eh hindi pa naguumpisa binabatikos na natin,” he said.
(Why not give her a chance?…she has yet to start but we’re criticizing too soon.)