Robredo’s report reflects ‘desperation for relevance,’ Palace says

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo’s report as former co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) reflects her “desperation for relevance,” Malacañang said Monday.

In a statement, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo insisted there is nothing new in Robredo’s report, saying it was just a rehash of old allegations from the opposition.

“The people anticipated an explosive divulgence of information from the VP, as she threatened, relative to this administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, but as we anticipated, it was a dud,” Panelo said.

“It was a rehash of old allegations of the political opposition which she leads, a mere antic reflecting her camp’s desperation for relevance at a time where an overwhelming number of Filipinos, or eight out of ten of us, support the current strategy of the government against illegal substance,” he added.

Robredo earlier released her report as ICAD co-chair and described the government’s war against illegal drugs as a “massive failure.”

The vice president said the government only managed to curtail one percent of the total projected illegal drugs and drug money exchanged in the country.

“The VP’s resort to baseless extrapolations in order to arrive at such a figure and deface the efforts of this administration in eliminating illegal drugs in the country is not only absurd but pathetic as well. When she speaks of failure, she must be referring to her failure as a Co-Chairperson of the ICAD,” he said.

Robredo was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte in October last year. However, she was sacked after two weeks as a response to the opposition’s dare to remove the Vice President from her post due to lack of trust, Malacañang said.