Cayetano: Robredo should be ‘more intellectually honest’ in drug report

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. FILE PHOTO

TAGUIG CITY, Philippines — House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday slammed Vice President Leni Robredo’s “very unfair” assessment of the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, saying that she should be more “intellectually honest” in her presentation of facts.

In presenting her findings during her 18-day stint as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), Robredo claimed that the drug war is a “massive failure” as it only managed to curtail a measly 1% of the total illegal drugs and drug money exchanged on the streets.

READ: Duterte’s drug war barely nicked surface of society’s menace – Robredo

Cayetano said that while Robredo was able to present data on the drug war, her conclusion was not supported by the facts.

“Hindi naman niya kinompare ‘yung dami ng hinuli ngayon sa dami ng hinuli nung past administration. Hindi niya kinompare ‘yung dami ng drug operations ngayon sa dami ng drug operation dati. Hindi niya kinompare ‘yung dami ng patay during the Aquino administration at ngayon,” he told reporters in an interview.

(She did not compare the number of those arrested on account for illegal drugs today from the number before. She did not compare the number of drug operations from before and now. She did not compare the number of people killed in the Aquino administration and now.)

“Sana maging mas intellectually honest siya sa presentation niya nung facts,” he added.

(I hope she will be more intellectually honest in her presentation of facts.)

Citing data from the Drug Enforcement Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Robredo said drug users consume 3,000 kilograms of shabu per week or 156,000 kilograms per year. However, she noted, the same data shows the government only managed to seize 1,344.87 kilograms in 2019, 785.31 kilograms in 2018, 1,053.91 kilograms in 2017.

Robredo added that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) was only able to freeze P1.4 billion of drug assets – a small amount since 3,000 kilograms of shabu translates to P25 billion per week or P1.3 trillion per year.

The Speaker said it was also wrong of Robredo to blame the government for not having accurate figures on the number of drug users and drug pushers, adding that the data from law enforcement agencies use estimates “on the best available data.”

“It’s fair for her to say sana mas may accurate [figures] but to blame the government or to say that the government is not acting on the best estimates that we have is mali,” he said.

(It is fair for her to say that there should be more accurate figures on the drug war, but to blame the government or to say that the government is not acting on the best estimates that we have is wrong.)

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Robredo as ICAD co-chair on October 31, 2019, following his frustration over her criticisms on his war on drugs.