'Sham, insincere': Robredo's removal as ICAD chair not a surprise to lawmakers
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers expressed no surprise over the firing of Vice President Leni Robredo as co-chair of an inter-agency body on illegal drugs, with some saying the appointment is sham from the very beginning.
President Rodrigo Duterte fired Robredo on Sunday less than three weeks after she was appointed as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs.
The decision came just days after the chief executive said he could not trust the vice president on classified information.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he was not surprised by the sacking of Robredo, who had vowed to end “senseless” killings in the internationally-condemned campaign.
“Not shocking, not surprising, not unexpected. Boring, actually. The more exciting question is, between PRRD and VP Robredo, guess who’s laughing now,” he wrote on Twitter.
For opposition lawmakers Francis Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros, it is clear that the appointment was never sincere in the first place.
“The appointment and the eventual firing of VP Leni as anti-drug co-chair prove what we have been saying all along: Both the war on drugs and the appointment of the vice president as ICAD co-chair are bluff and bluster,” Pangilinan said.
He added: “Their scheme to make VP Leni look weak backfired. Just two weeks after her appointment, she has shown courage and competence in facing the problem at hand and redirected the anti-drug war track from a criminal justice issue to a public health problem.”
Hontiveros said the Duterte and his officials are not ready for Robredo and terrified of her.
“When Vice President Leni Robredo called their bluff, they got snared in their own trap. The Duterte government blinked and lost. Vice President won,” she said.
Hontiveros also questioned the timing of the firing of Robredo.
“It is laughable that it is Vice President Robredo who got fired first over the public officials responsible for the anomalies and incompetence which now hound our hosting of the Southeast Asian Games left and right,” she said.
‘Never given a chance’
Human rights organization Amnesty Intenational said Robredo’s proposals to reform the anti-drug campaign were never given a chance.
“In only a few weeks, Vice President Robredo was able to confront the government with the staggering scale of its own crimes. That is why she was sacked,” Butch Olano, Amnesty International Philippines, said.
Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay) said the only mistake of the vice president is that “she took her role as anti-drugs czar very seriously.”
In less than a month that she held the position, Robredo demanded transparency and called on the government to address the drug problem using a health-based approach.
“Vice President Robredo did not waste this opportunity. She has tried to save lives, and she has lifted the voices of brave Filipinos around the country who oppose this deadly policy,” Olano said.
The government said just over 5,500 alleged dealers and users who fought back during arrest have been killed but watchdogs say the true toll can be as high as 27,000.
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