Robredo may have discovered vital drug info in short ICAD stint —Belmonte

Quezon City Representative Kit Belmonte believes that Vice President Leni Robredo may still have unearthed vital information on the drug menace in the country despite her short stint at the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).

"Maikli man ang naging panunungkulan niya bilang co-chair ng anti-illegal drugs council, she may have discovered significant information on the root of our nation's drug trade," Belmonte, who also serves as secretary-general of the Liberal Party, said on Monday.

Malacañang on Sunday announced that President Rodrigo Duterte has fired Robredo as ICAD co-chairperson just over two weeks after she accepted her appointment.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the firing "is in response to the suggestion of Liberal Party President, Senator Francis Pangilinan, to just fire the Vice President from her post."

"This is also in response to the taunt and dare of VP Robredo for the President to just tell her that he wants her out," he added.

Although many believe that Robredo's appointment to the position was mere politicking or a "setup" for her to fail, Belmonte believes that what is important for the Vice President was to end drug-related killings and bring those behind the drug menace to justice.

"Bakit ngayon, tinanggal siya sa puwesto? Hindi ba kapag ginagawa ng iyong opisyal ang kanyang trabaho nang tama at mahusay, dapat matuwa ka?" he said.

"What is there to fear from your own appointed drug czar finally getting to the bottom of our country's drug trade?" he added.

Less than a day after she was fired from the position, Robredo said she will not walk away from the campaign against illegal drugs.

“May interes ba tayong nabangga? Ano ba ang kinatatakutan ninyong malaman ko? Ano ba ang kinatatakutan ninyong malaman ng taumbayan? Kung sa tingin nila matatapos ito dito, hindi nila ako kilala. Nagsisimula pa lang ako,” she said.

She also vowed to publicize her discoveries as co-chair of the anti-drug body. —LDF, GMA News