SWS: 44% satisfied with Robredo's ICAD stint

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has received a “moderate” satisfaction rating for her performance as co-chairperson of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Tuesday night.

The poll, conducted from Dec. 13 to 16 last year, found 44 percent of the 1,200 respondents satisfied with Robredo’s job as head of the anti-drug body for 18 days.

Twenty-six percent were dissatisfied while 30 percent were undecided, for a net satisfaction rating of moderate +18.

The net satisfaction rating is the rounded-off difference between those who were satisfied and dissatisfied with the performance of Robredo as ICAD co-chairperson.

The SWS classifies net satisfaction rating of +70 as “excellent,” +50 to +69 as “very good,” +30 to +49 as “good,” +10 to +29 as “moderate,” +9 to -9 as “neutral,” -10 to -29 as “poor,” -30 to -49 as “bad,” -50 to -69 as “very bad” and -70 and below as “execrable.”

Robredo expressed gratitude to those who were satisfied with her performance during her 18-day stint as anti-drug chief.

“We all know how vilified I was when I was ICAD chair. But despite all the fake news, 44 percent still believed (in me),” she said.

 “There were a lot of things that I could have done… I would have had an influence on policy, establish partnerships with other government agencies. But for me, I never let difficulties get in the way of what I am doing,” she added.

The survey also found 49 percent of the respondents agreeing that the removal of Robredo from the anti-drug body was an admission that the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs was a failure.

Twenty-one percent disagreed, while 30 percent were undecided.

Forty-four percent believed that President Duterte was sincere when he appointed Robredo to the ICAD.

Twenty-seven percent said the President was insincere, while 29 percent were undecided.

The survey showed that 60 percent believed that Robredo should have had access to the list of high-value drug targets.

Only 15 percent disagreed, while 25 percent were undecided.

The survey had a margin of error of +/- three percent.

The survey respondents who were satisfied with Robredo’s performance as ICAD co-chair believed the attacks against President Duterte’s war on drugs, Malacañang said yesterday.

“Perhaps four (in every 10 respondents) believed the incessant, unrelenting attacks against the drug war of the President. But as I pointed out earlier, this is contradicted by the people’s satisfaction of how he’s handling the drug problem,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said. “You must remember his high trust and popularity ratings.”

Panelo said Robredo was given an opportunity to introduce programs that would help improve the campaign against narcotics but she blew it.

Lawmaker defends drug war

A lawmaker yesterday criticized Robredo over her report on the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, who chairs the House committee on dangerous drugs, said the conclusion of Robredo that the drug war has failed is far from reality.

“The Vice President’s statement is the exact opposite of the accomplishments of the administration’s drug war. Her statement is bereft of the true assessment of the day-to-day happening in the streets,” Barbers told The STAR.

He said data gathered by his panel during legislative inquiries actually showed the success of the drug war in terms of arresting and indicting drug traffickers as well as in reducing drug supply.

This is supported by the SWS survey showing that 73 percent of the respondents saying the number of illegal drug users went down.

Barbers also downplayed the recommendations of Robredo in her report, including the need to come up with the exact number of drug users in the country.

“Her proposal is nothing new. In fact, it is what the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) have been doing,” he said.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has slammed Robredo’s report, which he described as “unfair” and “intellectually dishonest.”

ICC case

Meanwhile, the Vice President denied knowing Jude Sabio, the lawyer who filed then withdrew his complaint against President Duterte for crimes against humanity in the government’s war on drugs. 

In an interview after joining the community-based drug rehabilitation summit in Caloocan yesterday, Robredo denied that the Liberal Party (LP) was behind Sabio’s filing of the complaint before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“I wanted to ask him who he was referring to from the LP because what he’s saying is a complete lie,” Robredo said.

She said she was not surprised that lawyer Larry Gadon, who had wanted her impeached, assisted Sabio in withdrawing the ICC case.

Robredo said it was also Gadon who assisted Peter Advincula, who claimed to be “Bikoy” in a viral video linking Duterte to the drug trade, in filing sedition charges against her and other opposition figures.