Vice President: No leaking of sensitive state info

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has assured President Duterte that none of the confidential details related to the government’s war on drugs would be disclosed to foreign entities.

“Our assurance is that all sensitive information will not be disclosed,” Robredo told reporters after attending a budget hearing at the Senate.

But her spokesman, lawyer Barry Gutierrez, was puzzled at the hesitation of some administration officials to provide Robredo the list of high-value targets when the President himself has divulged on national TV the names of personalities allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.

The list is contained in a drug matrix that includes some officials of local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“We don’t understand what the big deal is with respect to high-value targets, the President himself has on several occasions named the personalities whom he claimed are involved in the drug trade, including at one point, public officials who belong to the PNP, LGUs,” he said in an interview. “So I don’t understand where the hesitation is coming from, she is after all tasked with leading government anti-drug efforts.”

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director-general, who co-chairs the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs (ICAD) with Robredo, earlier said that having a list of high-value targets is beyond the Vice President’s mandate.

Robredo said she made the request to Aquino through a letter. She stressed on Sunday that while she wants transparency in the war on drugs, she will not jeopardize the security of the state.

“Of course, if it’s sensitive, closed-door. But the ball is in their hands,” she said.

Duterte last week warned that Robredo would be immediately fired as drug czar if she will make public the classified and confidential issues related to the illegal drugs situation and drug suspects in the country and endanger the security of the state.

Robredo had met officials of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United States embassy. She also received briefings from the law enforcement cluster of ICAD, which includes the Philippine National Police, PDEA and National Bureau of Investigation.

She also sat down in a closed-door meeting with health officials yesterday and was briefed on the status of drug rehabilitation centers in the country.

Gerardo Bayugo, DOH Undersecretary for field implementation and coordination, revealed that there are around 4,000 drug dependents undergoing treatment in rehabilitation centers across the country, including 2,500 in the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Palayan, Nueva Ecija.

Meanwhile, Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Philippines (CBCP) Public Affairs Committee, said the bishops’ group would first determine the kind of help that Robredo wants before committing.

“The drug problem is not only the concern of our government. It affects society as a whole and its many institutions. It’s wise for VP Leni to ask the help of everyone who she deems capable of effectively addressing the drug menace,” said Fr. Secillano.

However, “In asking for CBCP’s help, it is best to discuss the parameters and the kind of involvement the church will play in this issue. Clarity of roles is important so as not to defeat the purpose of stomping out illegal drugs in our midst,” he added.

“It depends on the role the church will play. If it is within the Church’s expertise, I don’t think the church will forgo the opportunity to be of help.”

It was earlier reported that the possible adaptation of the Ugnayan ng Barangay at Simbahan (UBAS), would be the main topic of Robredo’s meeting with CBCP members. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Evelyn Macairan