Leni’s ICAD post non-existent?
MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday accepted her appointment as co-chair of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs (ICAD), a position that allegedly does not exist.
Lawyer Barry Gutierrez, spokesperson of the Office of the Vice President, said that under Executive Order 15, which created ICAD, the co-chair position does not even exist.
“[E]ven with this appointment, clearly it’s still the president that will actually be calling the shots. Walang power itong co-chair ng ICAD even granting that [the] position will be created sometime in the future,” Gutierrez said.
(The ICAD co-chair does not have power even granting that the position will be created sometime in the future.)
Issued in March 2017, EO 15 states that PDEA is the chairperson of ICAD and is responsible for ensuring the objectives of the committee and its four clusters –
Enforcement, Justice, Advocacy, and Rehabilitation and Reintegration – are accomplished. The document does not state a co-chairperson position.
ICAD has the following member agencies, which are represented on the committee by officials with the rank of undersecretary or assistant secretary: Dangerous Drugs Board, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice, Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, Department of National Defense, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Philippine Information
Agency, Public Attorney’s Office, Office of the Solicitor General, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Immigration, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and AntiMoney Laundering Council.
“The ICAD shall ensure that each member agency shall implement and comply with all policies, laws and issuances pertaining to the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign, in an integrated and synchronized manner,” EO 15 reads.
Presumably, because of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, or Republic Act No. 9165, this policy was created by the Dangerous Drugs Board, which also sits on the committee.
Among the specific functions of the committee are ensuring the effective conduct of anti-illegal drug operations and “arrest of highvalue drug personalities down to the street-level peddlers and users”, as well as cleansing the bureaucracy of personnel involved in illegal drug activity.
ICAD is also tasked with overseeing the implementation of the National Anti-Drug Plan of Action 2015-2020 and the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program.
More general functions are facilitating advocacy campaign initiatives, monitoring if the role and responsibilities of the member agencies are carried out, and checking if anti-illegal drug objectives of the government are achieved.
ICAD’s Enforcement Cluster is mandated to conduct anti-illegal drug operations with the support of other law enforcement agencies through the PDEA and National AntiDrug Task Force “including the conduct of investigations against drug syndicates, financiers and other target personalities.” PDEA and the National Anti-Drug Task Force, in turn, may seek assistance from the military, coast guard, and all other agencies.
The Justice Cluster is “primarily responsible for the expeditious prosecution of all drug cases, provision of legal assistance to law enforcement,” and the availability of public attorneys for voluntary surrenders and warrantless arrests during operations. (Philstar.com)