MANILA, Philippines – An ally of Vice President Leni Robredo insists that her term as Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) co-chairperson was successful citing the results of a recent survey.
According to former deputy speaker Erin Tañada, who also is the Liberal Party (LP) vice president for external affairs, according to the survey, 44 percent of Filipinos were satisfied with Robredo’s performance as co-head of ICAD cannot lie.
“Hindi nagsisinungaling ang numero. Dito makikikita na malaking tagumpay ang maikling panahon ni Vice President Leni Robredo bilang ICAD co-chair, taliwas sa sinabi ng Malacanang na siyang nagawa sa nasabing posisyon,” Tañada said in a statement on Thursday.
“Nagsalita na ang taumbayan na kuntento sila ang ginawang trabaho ni VP Leni sa kampanya kontra droga. Sino ngayon ang totoong incompetent sa giyera kontra ilegal na droga?” he asked.
(The numbers do not lie. We could see here how Vice President Leni Robredo’s short stint as the ICAD co-chair was a big victory, contrary to Malacañang’s claims that she did not do anything.)
(The people have spoken, that they are contented with the work VP Leni did in the campaign against illegal drugs. Now, who appears to be truly incompetent in handling the drug war?)
Earlier, polling firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) said 44 percent of Filipinos are satisfied with how Robredo worked while she was at ICAD, while 26 percent were dissatisfied, 11 percent very dissatisfied, and 30 percent undecided.
Aside from this, the respondents of the SWS survey also said that 49 percent believed that President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to fire Robredo from ICAD was an admission that something is wrong with the drug war.
Robredo accepted Duterte’s appointment to the ICAD post on November 6 but was removed just 18 days into her term.
LP, one of the groups criticizing the current administration, is chaired by Robredo. Part of LP and Robredo’s criticism centers on the bloody war against illegal drugs, which has claimed over 5,500 lives during legitimate police operations.
READ: 44% of Filipinos satisfied with Robredo’s ICAD stint – SWS
Last January 6, Robredo released her report on the drug war based on her ICAD stint, where she labeled Duterte’s campaign as a “massive failure” for only being able to constrict one percent of all shabu and drug money entering the country annually.
Malacañang meanwhile discredited Robredo’s report, saying that there was nothing new on it. Other government officials like Interior Secretary Eduardo Año speculated that the people who crafted the report might have twisted the data to their favor.
However, Tañada also insisted that it would have been better if Robredo was not fired, claiming that more positive changes would have been introduced with her at the helm of the drug war
“Mas maraming positibong bunga sana ang makikita at mararamdaman ng publiko kung binigyan lang nila ng sapat na panahon ang Bise Presidente na gawin ang kanyang trabaho,” Tañada said.
(The people would feel more positive outputs and results had the Vice President been given ample time to do her job.)
“It is unfortunate that the government allowed politics and personal agenda to prevail over the common good of the Filipino people when it removed Robredo from the post,” he added.
READ: Duterte’s drug war barely nicked surface of society’s menace – Robredo
READ: Palace: Nothing new with Robredo’s drug war report