(Eagle News) – Vice-President Leni Robredo said that officials of the United States are fully supportive of the Philippine government’s war against drugs and would be willing to give any help if needed for the campaign’s success.
In her statement given after meeting with the US officials on Wednesday, Nov. 13, Robredo, the recently designated anti-illegal drugs czar by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, said that the various representatives of the US agencies she had met shared their programs related to the drug war campaign.
She described the briefing that the US officials gave as “comprehensive.”
Robredo met with officials of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US State Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and USAID.
“Lahat sila ay nagbahagi ng kanilang mga programa rito sa Pilipinas na kaugnay sa kampanya laban sa iligal na droga,” she said.
-Deficiencies in present drug war discussed-
Robredo also said that they have talked about the need for a clear baseline data about the drug situation in the country, as well as the deficiencies in the present drug war campaign.
“Napag-usapan din ang mga kakulangan sa kasalukuyang kampanya at ang mga tulong na maaari pa nilang maibigay para lalong paigtingin ang kampanya laban sa droga,” she said.
She said that the US agencies all vowed to help strengthen the Philippine government’s anti-illegal drugs efforts.
The US officials also recommended looking into possible amendments to the current Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act to make sure that this would address the needs of the current Philippine situation.
Upon request of VP @LeniRobredo, an interagency U.S. government delegation from the @FBI, @DEAHQ, @StateDept and @USAID_Manila briefed on the current state of U.S.-Philippines counter-narcotics cooperation.
— U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (@USEmbassyPH) November 13, 2019
A US embassy tweet said that the meeting was done “upon the request” of the Vice-President.
Robredo said that during the meeting, they also talked about the strengthening of the programs for “drug use prevention and community-based drug rehabilitation.
“Matagal na ang ugnayan ng aming opisina sa Embahada ng Amerika. Nagtulungan na kami sa iba’t ibang proyekto. Nagpapasalamat ako na naging agaran ang kanilang pakikipagkita sa akin matapos ang aking pagkakatalaga,” she said.
“Ipinahiwatig nila ang kanilang buong suporta at kooperasyon sa ating kampanya laban sa iligal na droga. At, bilang kaibigan ng Pilipinas, gagawin nila ang lahat para tayo ay magtagumpay sa laban na ito,” she added.
