Robredo's direction
Vice President Leni Robredo has met with PNP OIC Police Lieutenant General Archie Gamboa and he agreed to review Oplan Tokhang because of its negative image to the public. The word "tokhang" has become synonymous with experiencing anything negative including being killed without a fight, thanks to the bloody campaign launched by former PNP chief Roland dela Rosa where thousands allegedly fought it out with the police and were killed. But because of several incidents where the suspect never put up a fight but was executed, the word "tokhang" took on a very bad meaning with the image of the PNP suffering as well.
Vice President Robredo sitting as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) said Oplan Tokhang is a good plan but its implementation was also subject to police abuses. During the three years of the Duterte administration, more than five thousand were killed in anti-drug police operations with some sources even giving a much higher figure, giving rise to the suspicion the killings were state-sponsored to make the campaign more “impressive.”
The direction that Robredo seems to be taking is to focus on the big suppliers and not the small-time users or pushers. The idea is to diminish if not eradicate the street supply and stop the influx of illegal drugs into the country. She has already met with representatives of the International State Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US State Department, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the US Agency for International Development. They provided confidential information about active drug syndicates in the country. They want to assist in the campaign not only in the Philippines but around the world. The campaign would indeed benefit greatly from advanced American technology to suppress the syndicates, something Senate President Sotto seems to reject.
Robredo still wants to talk to the Chinese government to curb the entry of illegal drugs into the country believing most originate from there. The PDEA director general and co-chairperson of ICAD refuted Robredo and said most of the drugs come from the so-called Golden Triangle syndicate from Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. But Sen. Lacson, who is currently advising Robredo, said drugs are indeed manufactured in China and do make their way into the triangle for distribution into the region. Hopefully, the Chinese government will cooperate.
It seems that now that Robredo is part of ICAD, all these opinions, advice, and criticism are coming out left and right. Where were all these ideas and opinions before she accepted the offer? And known administration allies from the Senate President to the Speaker of the House can't seem to help themselves but criticize Robredo who hasn't even been with ICAD for a month. I thought the idea was to infuse new ideas, have a fresh set of eyes looking into the problem and for both the opposition and the administration to unite in the fight against illegal drugs. If Duterte promised to eradicate drugs in the first six months of his term, which he hasn't, maybe Robredo should be given a chance to try and do the same in the same amount of time before harping on her. It is starting to look like she was offered the job for her to fail after all.
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