Robredo ‘willing to help’ but won’t be ‘scapegoat’ for lapses in drug war – spokesman
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 07:30:36 +0000
THE camp of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo stressed on Friday that she was willing to help the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in solving the narcotics problem in the country, but that she won’t be made a “scapegoat” for the lapses of the campaign in the past.
“What she will not stand for is being made a scapegoat for all the shortcomings of the ‘drug war’ for the past three and a half years,” said lawyer Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s spokesman.
Gutierrez said that should the administration be called to account for its failure to eradicate drugs in the Philippines in six months as initially promised, Robredo should not be blamed for it.
He added that the Vice President has always been willing to help from the start as long as requests will be coursed through her in a proper manner.
“Handa naman laging tumulong si VP Leni. Mula noon hanggang ngayon. Kung humihingi na ng saklolo ang Pangulo sa usapin ng ‘drug war,’ daanin lang sana sa maayos na usapan—hindi sa text, hindi sa palabas sa media, » said Gutierrez.
(VP Leni has always been willing to help. From the beginning until now. If the President is really asking for help in addressing the ‘drug war,’ let’s put it through a formal discussion — not through text, not by parading before the media.)
Without naming names, Gutierrez hinted at Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo who previously insisted before the media that he texted Robredo about Duterte’s offer to become the drug czar for six months but had gotten no response.
Panelo reiterated that he only meant to “give a heads up” to give Robredo some time to think things through because the President was serious about the offer.
On Monday, Duterte dared Robredo to solve the country’s narcotics problem if she was really “bright” and has better capabilities than him. He said that he would give her “full powers” to address the issue herself.
Robredo previously noted that the administration should re-asses the lapses of the war on illegal drugs, specifically the growing number of drug addicts despite the campaign going full swing in 2016.
This did not sit well with allies and supporters of the administration.
Data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) showed that there have been at least 5,000 deaths related to the government’s drug war as of January 2019.
Various rights groups, however, have maintained that the death toll has reached more than 27,000 since Duterte assumed office in 2016. GLEE JALEA