MANILA, Philippines — The spokesman of Vice President Leni Robredo has urged Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino to read the full drug war report first before making any comments.
Aquino has dismissed as Robredo’s recommendations to improve the drug war campaign as “mere political attack” against President Rodrigo Duterte.
But Robredo’s mouthpiece, Atty. Barry Gutierrez, shot down Aquino’s remarks, which also alleged that Robredo was setting aside the achievements of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).
“We hope DG Aquino will read the report in full. If he does, he will very clearly see that the VP acknowledges the work of the ICAD agencies while pointing out the areas that need further effort,” Gutierrez said in a statement.
“The VP’s report is based on official numbers largely from ICAD agencies. The conclusions are all anchored on these numbers,” he added.
During her report, Robredo thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for giving her the chance to co-lead ICAD even if it was only for 18 days. The other co-chair of ICAD is Aquino.
She also reiterated that ICAD’s member-agencies are committed, although she also noted the division of work in the inter-agency committee was imbalanced due to lack of engagement.
READ: Duterte’s drug war barely nicked surface of society’s menace – Robredo
“Hinayag ko ang mga ito ngayong umaga hindi para manira o mambatikos, pero para ilabas ang katotohanan. Makakaasa po kayo sa aking patuloy na pagtulong para malutas ng ating bayan ang problema ng iligal na droga,” Robredo explained in her report.
(I pronounced all these this morning not to tarnish or criticize but to expose the truth. You can be assured of my continued help to resolve our country’s problem on illegal drugs.)
“Sana makaasa din ang ating mga kababayan na gagawin niyo ang nararapat para harapin ang katotohanan at ayusin ang kasalukuyang kampanya,” she added.
(We hope our countrymen could also expect that you would do what is right to face the truth and improve the existing campaign.)
Earlier, Aquino described as “saddening” Robredo’s public report on the brutal drug war.
“I see her recommendations as a mere political attack against President Rodrigo Duterte,” Aquino said in a statement.
“Vice President Leni Robredo’s statement is SADDENING – 18 days as ICAD [co-chair] yet she has dismissed and ignored all of our government’s accomplishments and efforts for the past three years,” he also said.
READ: Robredo’s tirades on drug war ‘mere political attack’ vs Duterte – PDEA boss
But Gutierrez said Aquino did not dispute the numbers presented by
Robredo “and instead presents completely unrelated statistics such as the number of arrests and the President’s approval rating.”
Robredo, in her report, has enumerated figures from PDEA and the Philippine National Police.
Gutierrez said the statistics mentioned by Aquino “do not address the basic point that only a minuscule fraction of total drug supply is being stopped by government efforts.”
“We hope that DG Aquino, and other officials, will face these hard truths squarely, instead of attempting to brush them off or confuse the issue,” he said.
Edited by KGA
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