Robredo: ‘Step back and review’ campaign vs illegal drugs

Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo on Monday asserted the administration should take a “step back” and review its relentless campaign against illegal drugs, clarifying that she did not call for an end to the government’s drug war as reported by a wire news agency last week.

“It is time for the government to step back and assess kung ano iyong kulang, ano iyong mali (what is lacking and wrong),” Robredo said in a interview with ABS-CBN News Channel’s “Headstart.”

Robredo, a lawyer, said the government should change its strategy by not heavily relying on criminal justice approach to address the drug problem in the country.

“Ang paniniwala ko ‘yung criminal justice approach, gamitin ‘yun para sa drug suppliers, drug dealers pero as far as drug addicts are concerned, it should be treated as an addiction. Dapat mas heavy on community-based prevention (I believe the criminal justice approach should be used for drug suppliers, drug dealers but as far as drug addicts are concerned, it should be treated as an addiction. We should be heavy communitybased prevention),” she said.

“In fact the exact term I used was to assess whether there was a need to tweak what they are doing now,” Robredo said.

The Vice President has drawn criticisms from Malacañang, as well as the agencies implementing the anti-narcotics campaign, over her remarks in the news story, titled “Philippine Vice President says time for Duterte to halt failed drug war.”

“We ask ourselves, ‘Why is this still happening?’ The President has already made very serious threats to drug syndicates, to drug lords… and yet it’s still very prevalent so obviously, it’s not working,” the wire agency reported her saying.

Robredo said she had no intention to belittle the efforts of the concerned agencies in the fight against illegal drugs.

“My intent was to remind the government that something must be wrong with the way they are implementing the drug war,” the 54-year-old lady official said.

“If you’re doing something and yet you don’t get the desired results, whatever you do whether its drugs, malnutrition, or it’s something else you have to assess,” Robredo added.

Despite her clarification, the Vice President stood her ground and maintained her criticisms of the drug war.

Robredo reiterated the rising number of drug addicts nationwide, which President Rodrigo Duterte himself disclosed.

She was referring to Duterte’s previous speeches that the number of drug addicts was four million in 2017, then it increased to seven to eight million this year.