(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed Vice President Leni Robredo’s acceptance of the co-chairmanship of the Inter-Agency Committee Against Illegal Drugs.
In a statement on Thursday, Nov. 7, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President expects Robredo would see the “realities on the ground, particularly with respect to the government’s position against extrajudicial or state-sponsored killings, and understand that deaths occur due to the violent reactions on the part of agents of the illegal drug trade against the strict enforcement of the law” with her at the helm.
The President designated Robredo to the post in a memorandum on Oct. 30, after she said the drug war was a failure because it had failed to curb the number of drug users in the country.
Earlier, Robredo’s spokesperson, Barry Gutierrez, said the position was “problematic” and inexistent under Executive Order 15 which created the inter-agency body.
Robredo accepted the post on Wednesday, Nov. 6, saying she wanted to help save lives and stop the killings in the drug war.
Robredo will be serving as ICAD co-chair until June 30, 2022, unless sooner revoked by Duterte.
