‘Bato’ on Robredo seeking UN, US help on drug issues: PH ground is different

MANILA, Philippines — “Iba ang realities on the ground sa Pilipinas.”

(Realities are different on the ground here in the Philippines.)

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said this on Tuesday when asked about Vice President Leni Robredo’s move to seek inputs from the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) and the US Embassy in addressing the country’s illegal drug problem.

“At the back row level, may maitutulong yan. Pero dito sa baba, iba ang realities on the ground sa Pilipinas, kumpara sa realities on the grounds sa drug problem ng United States. Iba din yung realities sa drug problem dun sa Mexico, iba rin sa Colombia,” Dela Rosa said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

(At the back row level, they would be of help. But here on the ground, the realities on the ground in the Philippines is different from the realities on the ground of the United States when it comes to the drug problem. Realities on the ground in Mexico and Colombia are also different).

Dela Rosa is a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and was also known as one of the architects of the administration’s war on drugs.

Robredo, was earlier designated by President Rodrigo Duterte as the co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) following her criticism against the administration’s bloody drug war.

On Monday, Robredo met with representatives of the UNODC to discuss the “best practices” in addressing the illegal drug problem in the Philippines.

Aside from programs that can be implemented to fight illegal drugs, the meeting also delved into the experiences of the Philippines’ neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region in dealing with the problem, according to Robredo’s chief of staff.

READ: Robredo meets with UN body to discuss campaign vs illegal drugs 

The Vice President also earlier said she was open to working with the US Embassy in Manila in dealing the country’s drug problem.

READ: Robredo open to US Embassy offer of assistance in PH drug war 

While Dela Rosa, nevertheless, said Robredo will need all the help she can get, driving the drug war to success would depend on how operatives on the ground would perform.

“You need [all] the help you can get in order to succeed on this war on drugs, but at the end of the day, ang success mo, nandun pa rin sa operatives sa baba, kung anong diskarte ang gagawin niya, nandun pa rin yan sa tao na nagtatrabaho,” he said.

(You need all the help you can get in order to succeed on this war on drugs, but at the end of the day, your success will depend on how the operatives on the ground would perform).