Robredo asks Sueno, Dela Rosa for docs, info on drug war

The Office of the Vice President on Monday released the letter that she sent to Interior Sec. Ismael Sueno and PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, requesting for several documents in light of the police’s anti-drug operations.

The letter, dated January 24, was addressed to Sueno, with a copy furnished to Dela Rosa.

It was received by the two officials’ respective offices on January 30.

Vice President Robredo’s office released the said letter on Monday afternoon, hours after Dela Rosa said he never received such.

Signed by the Vice President herself, the letter was a request for official copies of several documents related to the police’s anti-drug operations, including:

• Command Memorandum Circular No. 2016-16, which established Operation Double Barrel;
• “latest report” on police’s anti-drug operations;
• list of “suspected drug personalities killed” in said operations since Oplan Tokhang started in July 2016;
• list of deaths under investigation within the same period; and
• list of deaths “in cases where investigation has concluded since the implementation of Operation Double Barrel.”

“In recent months, in the course of my visits to barangays in different provinces, I have been approached by citizens, sectors, and advocates expressing a variety of concerns on the implementation of the administration’s anti-drug campaign,” she wrote.

“These documents will allow me to respond more effectively to the issues that have been raised,” she added.

Malacañang officials have shot back at Robredo for being “misinformed” about the drug war, while the PNP asked her to “be more specific” about the allegations.

In the video—requested by the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)—the Vice President shared alleged irregularities of the administration’s war against drugs, based on stories relayed to her office by representatives of affected urban poor communities.

Robredo is being criticized, particularly over revealing the alleged “palit-ulo” scheme, where the spouse or relative of a person in the so-called drug list will be taken “if the person himself could not be found.”

The PNP earlier denied such scheme. However, Dela Rosa admitted on Monday morning that there is such a thing as “palit-ulo,” where a drug suspect may be afforded lighter punishment if he reveals his higher-ups in the trade. — RSJ, GMA News