"Clearly, the Vice President’s entry into the picture has invested the Duterte administration’s war on drugs with the respectability that it has never had."
"Clearly, the Vice President’s entry into the picture has invested the Duterte administration’s war on drugs with the respectability that it has never had."For a while there was widespread doubt as to whether the Vice President of the Philippines would accept President Rodrigo Duterte's offer of the co-chairship of the Inter-agency Committee Against Illegal Drugs (ICAD). But, as we now know, Leni Robredo decided to accept the offer, and with her acceptance, all sorts of recalculations and re-evaluations of the Philippine political firmament have had to be made. After all, what we now have is a situation in which the titular head of the leading Opposition party taking over the lead role in the implementation of the administration's principal domestic program.
What are the implications of Vice President Robredo's acceptance of the ICAD co-chairship for the so-called war on drugs? What are its implications for the woman who, barring any unforeseeable challenge, will be the Liberal Party's standard-bearer in the next Presidential election?
Whether she realized it at the time she made her decision, Vice President Robredo's acceptance of the ICAD position has had the effect of deodorizing the Duterte administration's war against illegal drugs. There can be no erasing the bad things that have been wrought by the war—especially the thousands of individuals, mostly poor, who have lost their lives in 'nanlaban' encounters with PNP (Philippine National Police) operatives—but, with a respected official like Vice President Robredo now at the war's helm, international institutions and foreign governments will have to reduce the harshness of their criticism of the war in deference to her. Clearly, the Vice President's entry into the picture has invested the Duterte administration's war on drugs with respectability that it has never had. In the view of its foreign critics, the war on illegal drugs has until now been run by things in uniform; now it is being overseen by one of the Philippines' most respected women.
Whatever caused him to think of offering the ICAD position to Vice President Robredo—it was sudden pique over Mrs. Robredo's latest criticism of the war on illegal drugs or a well-thought-out plan—the offer, and her acceptance of it, is a win-win situation for President Duterte. Having admitted that he had failed to solve the illegal-drugs problem—a sad and pitiful act—Mr. Duterte has nothing more to lose. But he has everything to gain if Mrs. Robredo were to do a good job in her ICAD position; he could then claim credit for having exercised good judgment in appointing her to that position. And if the Vice President were to fail, he could say that her failure validated his admission that the illegal-drugs problem was a very tough nut to crack. Not only I but also Vice President Robredo could not solve the problem, the Chief Executive will be able to say.
And what would be the implications for Vice President Robredo of her embedding herself with the Duterte administration's illegal-drugs war as co-chair of the implementing committee? In deciding whether to accept the ICAD position, Leni doubtless realized that she was taking a calculated risk. If she succeeds as drug co-chair, and, like all Filipinos, I fervently hope she does—everyone will have won and her reputation and status as the titular head of the main Opposition party will have been enormously enhanced. But if she were to do a bad job, she will be subject to the charge of having given aid and comfort to the enemy but to little avail. The saying "Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan" will this come into play.
Vice President Robredo is to be admired for accepting the ICAD position in order to be able to save even one innocent life. But I hope that that one saved life will not prove to be very costly to her in terms of professional stature and political security. Leni Robredo is the best that the Opposition can offer the nation in the next Presidential election. Let not her chances in the 2022 electoral season be spoiled by the booby-traps and land mines planted by those who don't want her to succeed in her latest mission.