Rep. Danilo E. Suarez. LYN RILLON/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Minority Floor Leader Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez gave a perfect score to the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in its war against drugs, amid a rising body count of suspected criminals who were killed by alleged vigilante squads.
In the weekly press briefing of the bloc on Wednesday, Suarez said he would give a grade of “A” on the administration’s war on drugs and criminality in the first 100 days of Duterte’s presidency.
READ: Duterte won’t shut his mouth in antidrug war | Bato: PNP ‘winning war on drugs’ in Duterte’s first 100 days
Since Duterte waged his war on drugs, at least 3,000 suspected drug criminals have been killed, mostly vigilante murders of suspected pushers whose bodies were dumped on the streets of the metropolitan with their faces covered in tape beside a poster declaring “Huwag tularan (Don’t emulate).”
“I give him an A in his fight against drugs and criminality. And I think all of you will agree with me,” Suarez said.
READ: THE KILL LIST
Suarez, however, scored the failure of Duterte’s Cabinet officials to coordinate with each other.
“We are in full accord of the President Duterte on what he’s doing. Pero yung lapses ng executive, hindi natin dapat palampasin (But we cannot let the lapses of the executive pass). The President cannot be helped for 100 percent kung mahina ang kaniyang executive agency (if his executive agency is not performing well). It has to be harmonious working relations,” Suarez said.
He added that some members of Duterte’s Cabinet have ties with businesses which posed possible conflict of interest.
“Hindi maiiwasan na ang kanilang loyalty, pag hiningan ng tulong ang mga nagma-may ari ng kumpaniya, napakahirap hindi-han (Their loyalty will be put to a test. When the owners of the companies ask for a favor, it would be difficult for them to reject it),” Suarez said.
For his part, Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque hit the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for being too focused on asking Congress to grant the President emergency powers to solve the traffic crisis.
READ: Solon hits Duterte emergency powers as ‘blanket authority’
Roque also slammed the failure of the Department of Health (DOH) to contain the spread of the Zika virus.
READ: Zika infects pregnant woman in Cebu
“Beyond asking for emergency powers, in the 100 days, walang kahit anong ini-ntroduce ang DOTr. Gusto lang nila special powers (DOTr has not introduced anything. All they asking for is the special powers). I’m also disappointed at the performance of the DOH… Hindi pwedeng ang ating (It’s not appropriate that our) Secretary of Health does not know the exact nature of how Zika becomes a threat to the Philippines,” Roque said.
Roque advised the President not to completely give his trust to his Cabinet secretaries.
“High marks on the part of criminality, but he should pay attention to his secretaries, and should not completely trust the secretaries in doing their jobs,” Roque said.
Last Monday, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez lamented that the administration in its first 100 days failed to resolve the breakdowns of the railway systems and the traffic crisis in the metropolis. RAM
READ: Alvarez says traffic, railway breakdown still a problem in Duterte’s first 100 days