Robredo's firing will not affect drug war — PNP

MANILA, Philippines — The dismissal of Vice President Leni Robredo as anti-drug czar would not affect the government's campaign against illegal drugs, the Philippine National Police said Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte terminated Robredo's designation as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs less than three weeks after the vice president accepted the position.

PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the police respects the decision of the president to dismiss Robredo as co-chair of the ICAD.

"It will not affect our ongoing campaign against illegal drugs, particularly the pursuit against high-value targets," Banac said in a livestreamed press conference.

The PNP spokesman said the police would continue with its relentless campaign against illegal drugs in accordance with the law and with respect to human rights.

As far as the PNP is concerned, Banac noted that the police would go on with its two-pronged approach against illegal drugs, which includes Oplan Tokhang wherein police officers visit the homes of suspected drug users.

Banac also noted Robredo's contributions to the anti-narcotics campaign during her three-week stint in the ICAD.

"Even though Vice President Leni Robredo is not with us anymore, we gained many ideas from her on how to improve the campaign such as her advocacy to rehabilitate drug users," Banac said in Filipino.

The PNP acknowledged Robredo's statements on the drug war, which they described as on track with the direction of the police to make the campaign more transparent.

Robredo had suggested procuring body cams for police officers during law enforcement operations. According to Banac, the PNP is eyeing to beat the December 10 deadline of acquiring the body cams.

Duterte fired Robredo as ICAD co-chair after saying he does not trust her with confidential documents. The vice president asked for a list of high-value drug targets.

In response to Duterte's pronouncements, Robredo said the president should just directly tell her if he thinks he made a mistake in designating her as anti-drug czar.