Robredo could score a ‘drug war’ win

By Carlos H. Conde
Researcher, Asia Division
Human Rights Watch

NO one was surprised when Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo said recently that the country’s “war on drugs,” in which police have admitted to killing more than 5,500 people, was “not working.” She has spoken out frequently against President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal and bloody campaign whose actual death toll may exceed 27,000 victims, according to human rights groups. What came as a surprise was Duterte’s reaction: he dared her to run the campaign against drugs herself. “Let’s see if you can handle it,” Duterte said on Oct. 28.

Two days later, Duterte formalized his challenge by appointing Robredo as co-chair of the Interagency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (Icad), a body that reports directly to Duterte’s office. A week later, Robredo accepted the offer.

The offer seemed farcical given the contentious relationship between Duterte and Robredo, who belong to rival political parties. Duterte has disparaged her as “weak” and his administration has filed sedition charges against Robredo and others. She has never relented in her criticism of Duterte and his “drug war.”

Some suggest that Robredo fell into a Duterte trap. She will not actually lead the “drug war” because she will co-chair the Icad with Aaron Aquino, head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, which works with the Philippine National Police on the drug raids. It seems unlikely that the drug enforcement agency and the police, the drug war enforcers Duterte has promised to protect, would cede any sort of operational control to the vice president.

Duterte administration officials and allies have already predicted her failure, while many of those who warned her about this “poisoned chalice” are now offering her advice. One senator even told her to “watch your back.”

But Robredo may be able to make it work. That would mean ending the murderous police drug operations that have become rampant throughout the country. At the same time, she should be leading efforts to develop voluntary, community-based drug dependence treatment services that comport with international best practice standards and human rights principles. The Philippines needs to rethink its drug policies and just maybe Robredo is the one who can kick-start that process.

(Carlos H. Conde is a former journalist. He is now a researcher for the Asia Division of the Human Rights Watch.)