TANAY, Rizal – If it were for Vice President Leni Robredo, she would tinker with some of the policies used in carrying out the government’s anti-drug campaign.
According to Robredo on Thursday, she would like to shift the focus of the drug war, from the number of casualties to the number of individuals reformed.
“Una, papalitan natin iyong metrics. Iyong metrics, hindi sa numero ng pinapatay, pero iyong metrics, sa numero ng napapabuting mga buhay,” Robredo said in an ambush interview. “Titingnan natin kung seryoso lahat na sabay-sabay nating pagtutulungan na maayos ito.”
(First of all, I would change the metrics. It’s not in the number of killings but in the number of lives becoming better. Let’s see if everyone is serious enough that we can all help one another to fix this.)
“Babaguhin natin iyong polisiya pagdating sa… pagdating sa mga unnecessary (deaths) —lalo na iyong pagpatay ng mga inosente,” she added.
(We will change the policy when it comes to unnecessary deaths, most importantly those of the innocent.)
Robredo on Wednesday accepted President Rodrigo Duterte’s offer to lead the anti-drug campaign, as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD). She said that her primary consideration was the chance to save innocent people from dying in the government’s infamous drug war.
As of July, there were over 5,550 drug suspects killed, most of them from poor sectors, killed in legitimate police operations.
READ: Robredo accepts drug czar post offer
However, she insisted that she was not seeking for a total stoppage of the drug war, but merely a reassessment, and she assured the administration that the good things in the campaign would be continued.
“‘Yong mga magagandang ginagawa patuloy ‘yon, ang kailangan lang nating i-focus ‘yong mga may problemang aspects. Naniniwala ako na kaya nating ituloy ‘yong laban with the same vigor, within the bounds of the rule of law, human rights, standards of procedure,” she explained.
(We will continue the good aspect of the campaign, just a refocus on the aspect in some parts of the problem. I believe that we can continue the fight with the same vigor, within the bounds of the rule of law, human rights, standards of procedure.)
Aside from this, Robredo also admitted that she still has a lot of things to learn especially on the enforcement side. She also confirmed consulting Senator Panfilo Lacson — a former PNP chief — about the drug war.
“Iyong sa rehabilitation kasi, saka iyong health… health track, matagal na kaming bahagi ng isang multi-sectoral coalition, since 2016. So iyon, mas familiar ako doon […] Iyong enforcement iyong kailangan kong pag-aralan,” the Vice President said.
(In the rehabilitation, health track, we’ve been part of the multi-sectoral coalition since 2016 so I’ve been familiar with that. It is in the enforcement that I need to learn more.)
“I’m looking forward to working closely with Senator Lacson and learning from his insights and experience. I’m grateful that he offered his help and support as I take on this new responsibility,” she added later in an official statement. /jpv
READ: Robredo, Lacson to meet, discuss war on drugs