"This is clearly the right thing to do."
"This is clearly the right thing to do."
I have always said that the best description of Leni Robredo is that she—like her husband, my friend Jesse—is a servant leader. She is not into politics to play power games, certainly not to enrich herself, but to serve. As it was with Jesse, accepting positions of responsibility is a matter of duty to the country, to the people, and to the poor.
That she is a servant leader is the only way to understand Robredo’s decision to accept President Duterte’s offer to co-chair the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs (ICAD), which she will now oversee and lead with Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency head Aaron Aquino. I truly believe her that she is saying yes, even as she has been warned that this is a political trap, so that she can save lives. She said: “Because if I would be able to save even just one life, my principles and my heart tell me I have to try.”
Based on Executive Order No. 15, the ICAD has the following specific functions: Ensure the effective conduct of anti-illegal drug operations and arrest of drug personalities, including street-level drug pushers and users; Lead and coordinate the implementation of the government's National Anti-Drug Plan of Action; Ensure the implementation of the administration's Barangay Drug-Clearing Program; Ensure the intensive conduct of anti-illegal drug advocacy campaign initiatives; Ensure the roles and responsibilities of member agencies are carried out; Remove government personnel involved in illegal drugs from office and; Ensure that the government's anti-illegal drug objectives are achieved.
The centerpiece drug campaign by the present administration has been a complete failure. The massacre of the poor is so far its only result while the drug menace has grown. The war against illegal drugs has attracted nothing more than a deluge of controversies and criticisms from foreign and local observers and human rights groups. Indeed, although there is no underestimating the resolve of the President to stamp out the drug problem, regrettably human rights and the rule of law have taken a beating in the campaign. Thousands upon thousands have paid with their lives, many of whom were killed under suspicious circumstances.
Despite the savagery of the anti-drugs campaign, the government has given mixed signals on its effectiveness, at one point claiming the campaign a success while at another point admitting that the illegal drug trade in the country has actually worsened. These contradictory claims and inconsistent assertions are swinging like pendulum. Even the estimates of drug dependents are problematic.
During a press conference, the vice president took note of this when she pointed out: “The numbers we have are estimates. 1.8 million on DDB (Dangerous Drugs Board) as of 2015, but the working number for the government is four million. Then there’s the seven million to eight million [claimed by President Duterte]. That is why I will be setting an appointment with the law enforcement cluster [of ICAD],”
It is safe to assume that the management and leadership approach of the two leading officials will be very different, if not diametrically opposed. During her first meeting, VP Robredo promised to replace “Oplan Tokhang” with a new anti-illegal drug campaign. Initially, she intends to look into the accuracy of the government numbers on drug dependents. Robredo will also be seeking the cooperation of our international partners, including the United States, European governments, and United Nations agencies. What a relief! What a good infusion of fresh air in a war the government has been losing!
This is the right approach. The problem with Duterte’s war against illegal drugs is that it has never been based on facts but on political exigencies. The drugs issue got Duterte elected, and it is what he uses to attack political opponents. It is not science-based which requires government and society to see the drug problem as a criminal matter in terms of supply, but as a health issue from a demand perspective. By all means, go after the drug syndicates, but rehabilitate the addicts and address the conditions that enable addiction like the harsh working conditions of the working poor.
Political trap or not, or whether or not the offer was intended to shame the vice president, Robredo can now make a real difference as head of the anti-illegal drugs governing body. She is in a position to take the war on drugs in a different but more humane direction by correcting the perceived abuses in the anti-drug campaign, prevent rampant human rights violations, ensuring that it operates within the bounds of law. She can ensure that casualties are a result only of legitimate police operations and not of extrajudicial killings, and finally focus more on reintegration and rehabilitation of drug users instead of relying solely on the “kill, kill, kill” approach which for three years now seems to have been the preferred and failed remedy of this administration. After all, one innocent life spared or one drug user rehabilitated makes a lot of difference.
As for not being competent or tough enough, that description of the vice president is not supported by the evidence. I have seen her up close in a number of occasions and this is one strong woman. She does her homework, she listens, but for sure she is decisive. Her limited work as vice president has produced big outcomes, having outsized impact with poor communities. Her projects are the paragon of efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. Her staff is one of the best I have seen in government in the last 20 years.
I was ambivalent at first about Robredo's rejoining the government as the anti-illegal drugs czar for the country. But through the lens of servant leadership, it is clearly the right thing to do. Thank you, VP Leni, for doing this and setting an example for all of us.