Pinayuhan ng kampo ni Vice Pres. Leni Robredo si Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director general Aaron Aquino na basahin muna ang kabuuan ng inilabas nitong anti-drug war report bago magbato ng negatibong komento.
“We hope DG Aquino will read the report in full. If he does, he will very clearly see that the VP acknowledges the work of the ICAD agencies while pointing out the areas that need further effort. The VP’s report is based on official numbers largely from ICAD agencies. The conclusions are all anchored on these numbers,” ani Atty. Barry Gutierrez, tagapagsalita ng Office of the Vice President.
Kasunod ito ng pahayag ni Aquino, na kapwa chairman noon ni Robredo sa Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) na pinulitika lang ng bise presidente ang kanyang higit dalawang linggong pag-upo sa komite.
Dinepensahan ni Gutierrez ang report na base umano sa mga numerong hawak ng ICAD agencies.
“DG Aquino does not dispute these numbers and instead presents completely unrelated statistics such as the number of arrests and the President’s approval rating. These do not address the basic point that only a miniscule fraction of total drug supply is being stopped by government efforts.”
Ayon kay Gutierrez, malinaw na sinasalamin ng report na katiting na porsyento lang ng kabuuang drug supply sa bansa ang naharang ng pamahalaan sa nakalipas na tatlong taon.
“The “45 billion worth of illegal drugs” he claims have been seized, is, according to PNP figures, less than two weeks worth of total drug consumption, and only serves to validate the point made in the report. We hope that DG Aquino, and other officials, will face these hard truths squarely, instead of attempting to brush them off or confuse the issue. This is the difficult, but necessary, step that must be taken if we are to really improve the current drug campaign.”
Nakasaad sa 40-pahinang report ni Robredo na hango sa datos ng Drug Enforcement Group ng PNP, na nasa 1,344-kilos lang na shabu ang nasabat ng mga otoridad mula sa 156,000 kilos na ginamit umano ng drug users mula Enero hanggang Oktubre ng 2019.
Nakapaloob din sa report ng bise presidente ang pagpapalakas sa law enforcement agencies para mahuli ang malalaking drug suspects.
Gusto rin ni Robredo na palakasin ang Anti-Money Laundering Council para matukoy kung saan nanggagaling ang pondo na ginagamit kalakalan ng illegal drugs.
“Re this being a political attack. The VP explicitly stated that her purpose was not to criticise or attack anyone, but to reveal the truth about the drug war. The numbers are there. The report is clearly based on empirical evidence. If they disagree with it, they should prove their point through evidence as well. Otherwise, it is obvious who is really politicising the issue.”
