Government got snared in its own trap – opposition

MANILA, Philippines — A scheme to undermine Vice President Leni Robredo “backfired” and the administration “became entangled in its own trap,” opposition senators said last night after Robredo was fired as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).

“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,” Sen. Francis Pangilinan said in statement.

He said the Duterte administration’s scheme to make Robredo look weak backfired, noting that many admired Robredo’s acceptance of the post.

“In a short time, (Robredo) showed that the solution is not the killing of poor drug users while drug lords, ninja cops and their protectors are released and promoted,” Pangilinan said.

He noted that just three weeks after her appointment, she redirected the anti-drug war track from a criminal justice issue to a public health problem.

Pangilinan said Malacañang is “afraid that the support for Robredo would increase.”

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Robredo’s removal is not surprising, adding that “this administration got entangled and became a victim of its own trap.”

“The Duterte government blinked and lost. Vice President Robredo won,” she added.

Hontiveros said there can be no doubt that the invitation extended to Robredo “to curb the country’s drug problem was nothing but an insincere sham. It also exposed the government’s unwillingness to explore and try new approaches and alternatives in the campaign against illegal drugs.”

She said it is laughable that Robredo was fired before the public officials responsible for the anomalies and incompetence that hound our hosting of the Southeast Asian Games left and right.

The timing of Robredo’s firing “is another attempt to draw public attention away from the widespread anomalies and the incompetent and embarassing handling of the SEA Games,” Hontiveros said.