Robredo on Duterte making her a ‘drug czar:’ ‘Ayaw kong sagutin muna kasi hindi ko alam kung gaano kaseryoso’

Vice President Leni Robredo has shrugged off President Rodrigo Duterte’s comments that he wants to cede his law enforcement powers to Robredo for six months to solve the drug problems, saying that the President’s comments were born out of ego rather than serious talk.

Duterte made the remarks after Robredo said the administration’s drug war is not working since the number of drug users and traffickers are still rising despite the bloody campaign on drugs.

“Ako kasi, ayaw kong sagutin muna iyon kasi hindi ko alam kung gaano kaseryoso. Pero iyong sa akin lang, iyong mga problema ng ating bansa, hindi naman dinadaan sa pagkapikon, hindi naman dinadaan sa pang-iinsulto. Iyong sa akin, parating solusyon iyong hinahanap natin,” Robredo said in an interview in Iloilo.

“Sa akin kasi, wala ng value iyong maraming sinasabi, dahil alam naman natin na marami nang sinabi in the past, hindi lang dahil—hindi lang tungkol sa akin—na hindi naman naisasakatuparan. Mas gusto kong i-direct iyong aking energy sa mga bagay na magiging useful ako, gaya ng ginagawa ko dito sa Iloilo,” added Robredo, who was in Iloilo on Tuesday for the launch of a feeding program.

Public servants, Robredo said, should not govern based on ego but on the merits.

“Kaming mga naninilbihan sa taumbayan, walang space para sa aming ego, walang space para sa emosyon, walang space para sa pagkapikon, kasi hindi namin magagampanan nang maayos iyong aming trabaho,” Robredo said.

“From the very start, nasa receiving end na ako ng maraming pang-iinsulto ni Pangulo. Pero iyong sa akin, sa dami ng gagawin, kailangan matutunan ko i-focus kung ano iyong mga mahahalaga. Hindi ako puwedeng ma-distract from the work that I am doing, kasi less than three years na lang ang natitira sa akin,” she added.

In his remarks, Duterte also said that if Robredo is a bright person, then she should be able to solve the drug problem in six months.

It was President Duterte’s campaign promise to end corruption and drug menace in three to six months since assuming office in June 30, 2016.

But after almost three years, the President has admitted that the drug problem has worsened.

Based on police records, at least 5,500 drug suspects have been killed under the police's anti-drug operations without charges or trial. The said figure does not include drug-related deaths executed by unidentified gunmen. — RSJ, GMA News