Palace: Robredo joining gov’t campaign vs. illegal drugs a ‘good step forward’

Malacañang on Wednesday welcomed the decision of Vice President Leni Robredo to accept her appointment as co-chairperson of the government’s anti-narcotics campaign.

“It’s always a good step forward for any public official who would want to help this country,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in an interview on CNN Philippines.

Panelo said the Duterte administration is ready to help Robredo in fulfilling her mandate as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs.

He added Robredo should meet with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang so that she “would know exactly the parameters of her powers as the drug czar.”

“All members of the Cabinet help each other. Let her do her job and we will be behind her,” the Palace spokesman said, adding Robredo is welcome to attend the monthly Cabinet meeting scheduled this week.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar committed “to cooperate in the communications campaigns of the ICAD, and we look forward to working with her.”

“We look forward to the fresh perspective that VP Robredo will bring in addressing the illegal drug problem in the Philippines much faster, instead of just criticizing without concrete actions,” Andanar said.

In a separate statement, Panelo said Robredo was “finally her own person.”

“Her acceptance shows she is smarter than her colleagues in the opposition who do not want her to succeed in serving the people. She is finally her own person. She is much better off listening to her own instincts as a mother and a lawyer,” he said.

Early on Wednesday, Panelo urged Robredo to seize the “golden opportunity” by accepting the appointment which he said could be a “ladder to the presidency.”

Panelo also said that the President’s offer for Robredo to lead the campaign against illegal drugs showed that the chief executive was open to suggestions from a critic of the drug war.

“President Duterte believes that there is no better person who can implement such suggestions than the person making them,” he said in a statement.

Duterte previously offered Robredo to be a drug czar for six months after she criticized the administration's intensified campaign against illegal drugs, saying it was ineffective in curbing drug use and needed reassessment following the deaths of many suspects.

In a memorandum dated October 31, Duterte said Robredo would serve as ICAD co-chair, which holds a Cabinet rank, until the end of the administration's term on June 30, 2022, unless sooner revoked. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News