Zealous Leni may compromise anti-illegal drugs drive

Vice President Leni Robredo sees her appointment as ICAD co-chair "as a signal that the President is open to listen to a fresh perspective.” (AFP)

Senate President Senator Tito Sotto advised Vice President Leni Robredo to “slow down on media binge,” saying the government should not telegraph its moves against drug dealers.

Sotto likewise backed Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino who said it is not within Robredo’s mandate as Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) co-chair to secure the list of high-value targets.

Robredo asked for the list during a meeting with the law enforcement cluster of ICAD on Thursday.

Sotto said the mandate of ICAD is merely to coordinate policies among agencies involved in all aspects of drug abuse and illegal drugs.

“I know because I started the inter-agency concept with Dangerous Drugs Board Director Manuel Supnet in 1989.”

Sotto said the list will “leak” if the agencies concerned will submit it to the ICAD.

“If I were an adviser to the Vice President, I will tell her to slow down on the media binge. Submarine strategy is more effective,” he said.

“We should not telegraph our moves to the drug dealers,” added Sotto, while also appealing to the media “to cooperate by not broadcasting the strategies of the ICAD.”

“ICAD should inform the media when there are major achievements and accomplishments, not when planning strategies,” Sotto said.

Robredo should also be careful in claiming that majority of illegal drug smuggled into the Philippines come from China.

“The Chinese government has the same headache that we have,” Sotto said, further noting that the country’s anti-drug agents work with anti-narcotics officers in China.

Illicit substances might be coming from China but “it does not mean their government is behind it,” Sotto cleared.

Most illegal drugs entering the Philippines come from the Golden Triangle, the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar intersect, Aquino said.