Duterte’s deputy takes him on over drugs war

Manila, March 15: The vice-president of Philippines has issued a strong rebuke of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, describing it in a video sent to the UN as an issue of public health that cannot be solved “with bullets alone”.

More than 8,000 people have died since Mr Duterte began his war on drugs when he took office on June 30. More than 2,500 were killed in police operations during which officers said they fired in self-defence.

In a message to be shown on Thursday at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Drugs in Geneva, Leni Robredo challenged Mr Duterte’s crackdown, describing the killings as “summary executions”. Filipinos were “hopeless and helpless”, she added.

“The body count due to

Since July last year, more than 7,000 people have been killed in summary executions

— Leni Robredo, Philippines V-P

the drug-related killings keeps growing,” Ms Robredo said in the video statement uploaded on YouTube. “We are now looking at some very grim statistics —since July last year, more than 7,000 people have been killed in summary executions. Our people need nothing less than a safe environment.”

The government has made no immediate comment on the video.

Ms Robredo has emerged as one of a few high-profile Filipinos willing to speak out against the war on drugs.

Many of its domestic critics have been ridiculed and are routinely discredited by Mr Duterte and his aides.

Ms Robredo’s relationship with Mr Duterte is frosty and since being disinvited from his Cabinet meetings, they meet rarely and only during public events. She belongs to another political party and was not Mr Duterte's choice for vice-president, who is elected in a separate contest. A social activist and lawyer, Ms Robredo said the public should demand greater transparency about the drugs war and questioned Mr Duterte’s figures on drug use.