ICAD mandated to ensure arrest of high-value targets

MANILA,Philippines — Ensuring the arrest of high-value drug personalities is a responsibility of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), contrary to claims that it is beyond the mandate of its co-chair Vice President Leni Robredo.

Some administration allies claimed that Robredo should not have access to the list of high-value drug personalities, noting that ICAD is merely a policymaking body not involved in law enforcement.

But a closer look at the Executive Order that created the ICAD showed that the inter-agency committee is a coordinating – not policymaking – body tasked to ensure that each member-agency implements and complies with existing policies in line with the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Among its specific functions are ensuring “the effective conduct of anti-illegal drug operations and arrest of high-value drug personalities down to the street peddlers and users.”

It is also mandated to spearhead and coordinate the implementation of the National Anti-Drug Plan of Action and the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program.

ICAD is also tasked to ensure the intensive conduct of advocacy campaign initiatives, as well as cleanse the bureaucracy of unscrupulous personnel involved in illegal drug activities.

The body is also expected to ensure that the roles and responsibilities of the member agencies are carried out and that the anti-illegal drug objectives of the government are achieved.

It has four clusters – enforcement, justice, advocacy, and rehabilitation and reintegration – all reporting to the chairman, which is the head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Malacañang earlier designated Robredo as co-chair of the body, a position that does not exist in the original Executive Order that created the ICAD.

After accepting the designation, Robredo requested for access to information related to the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, including the list of high-value targets.

She said she would use the information to have a baseline and see the full picture.

Various officials, including Robredo’s ICAD co-chairperson, PDEA director general Aaron Aquino, expressed reservations on the Vice President’s request, noting that access to the list is beyond her mandate.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, in justifying the confidentiality of the list, said that is information only available to the National Security Council (NSC).

Leni is a member of the NSC

The Vice President is a member of the NSC as per Executive Order 115, issued in 1986, that identified the members of the council.

Robredo has not been invited to any NSC briefing since she was first booted out of the Duterte administration in 2016.

On Wednesday, Robredo said Aquino has offered to show her the list of the high-value targets.

The Vice President, however, said she declined for now as she is still waiting for Duterte to clarify the extent of her mandate.

“He should be the one to say what is my mandate, what are the limits,” she said in Filipino. “I do not have any plan to encroach on the mandate of others. My appointment was very general, I am co-chair of ICAD, so I am doing the expectation from the co-chair of ICAD.”

She said her request for the list of high-value targets was in line with the mandate of ICAD identified in the Executive Order that created it.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said yesterday that the Vice President’s functions must be made clear to prevent confusion and mistrust.

The senator added that what Robredo and critics must not forget is why President Duterte appointed her to the ICAD in the first place, that is, so that she can see for herself the extent of the country’s drug problem as she had been critical of the administration’s war on drugs, and hopefully she can make her own contributions.

“He (Duterte) wants her (Robredo) to see first hand the extent of the problem but it doesn’t really mean I’m making you drug czar, because (if) you’re the drug czar, I would’ve made you DDB (Dangerous Drugs Board) chair,” Sotto told in an interview aired over dwIZ. 

He said he felt the President wants her to listen to all reports from the member-agencies of the ICAD, like the DDB, PDEA, the departments of Health; and Interior and Local Governments, and do what she can, but not interfere in law enforcement functions.

Since her appointment, the Vice President said she has already recommended some changes in the existing policy in relation to the campaign against illegal drugs.

During a visit to Barangay Culiat in Quezon City on Friday, Robredo confirmed that the DDB – the policymaking body on anti-illegal drugs – has already acted on some of her recommendations in terms of policy changes.

Among her suggestions, she said, is the creation of a system that would include private groups in anti-illegal drug efforts.

“My suggestion is to include them in the system, rather than letting the private (groups) do their own initiatives,” Robredo said in Filipino. “It is better that they are integrated with the government. Let us just enter into partnerships (with them) so there are standards that we follow.” – With Paolo Romero