Palace open to halt anti-drug operations

MALACAÑANG is open to Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo’s proposal to halt police operations against suspected drug traffickers if it means eradicating the drug menace, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said yesterday.

“We’ll do it,” he told a briefing. “As long as VP Leni is in charge, whatever she feels.” Ms. Robredo, the opposition leader whom President Rodrigo R. Duterte put in charge of his administration’s war on drugs, wants to stop so-called tokhang operations, where law enforcers knock on suspected drug traffickers’ doors to persuade them to surrender.

Mr. Panelo noted that since Ms. Robredo is already sitting as co-head of an interagency committee against illegal drugs, she should do as she pleases.

The vice president on Friday convened a meeting of the anti-drug committee, where she said the practice of knocking on suspects’ doors should be stopped since it’s been connected to extrajudicial killings.

Ms. Robredo vowed to enforce the state’s antiillegal drug campaign “within the bounds of the rule of law.” She said she would treat the drug problem not only as a crime, but also as a health issue.

The meeting that she called was meant to give her access to data on the drug campaign.

Ms. Robredo again cited the need to re-assess the government strategy against illegal drugs given the rising number of drug dependents.

Philippine police have said they have killed about 6,000 people in illegal drug raids, many of them resisting arrest. Some local nongovernmental organizations and the national Commission on Human Rights have placed the death toll at more than 27,000.

Mr. Panelo said Ms. Robredo does not need to ask for Mr. Duterte’s permission to enforce measures she thinks will be successful in the drug war, as he confirmed in a phone call with Mr. Duterte recently.

“If she wants to consult with the president, the president is always open to consultations from members of the Cabinet,” he said.

Ms. Robredo last week said she had agreed to head the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign, if only to stop the killings.

The vice president accepted the post against the advice of many of her party mates, who said the appointment might be a trap. —