Palace not afraid VP may get intel to use vs Duterte at ICC

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is not afraid that Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo would get hold of drug war intelligence reports that could be used as evidence against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said this on Sunday, days after Robredo accepted the President’s appointment as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).

READ: Robredo as drug czar: Are you ready for me?

“First of all, the government has nothing to hide in its records. Everything’s transparent,” Panelo, speaking in Filipino, said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM.

“When you say intelligence report, it contains those involved in the illegal drug trade, and this is being monitored by all agencies. So what’s wrong with it?” he continued.

The President faces a complaint filed at the ICC for his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which started in  2016. Over 5,500 individuals have been killed in the drug war according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, but human rights groups have counted as many as 27,000 deaths.

READ: Duterte now lone respondent in ICC case vs drug war

Panelo, who is also chief legal counsel of the President, also repeated that Robredo should be given time to formulate her own strategy as the new drug war czar.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s advise that Robredo should always watch her back is also normal when it comes to politics, according to Panelo.

READ: Lacson to Robredo: Cut drug supply, watch your back

“A lot of people like to ride on the issue, especially politicians who want to derail Robredo’s possible presidential bid,” Panelo said. “That’s what Senator Lacson meant. And for that matter, all politicians should be watching their backs because they have a lot of enemies lurking.”

/atm