Vice President Leni Robredo believes the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is a failure, though she insists she doesn’t want it stopped.
In an interview on ANC’s “Headstart” Monday (October 28), Robredo said the number of illegal drug users remains high three years after the drug war started.
READ: Cayetano reminds Robredo: 82% of Pinoys approved Duterte’s Drug War
“It failed in the sense that it has not… it has not… successfully curbed the number of drug users that… that should have been curbed from the very start. Kasi iyong numbers nga, rising, eh,” she said.
Robredo noted that from around 1.6 million drug users in 2016, no less than President Rodrigo Duterte said the number of addicts rose to some 7 to 8 million during his term.
For the Vice President, the administration’s strategy to fight illegal drugs is too focused on going after drug pushers.
READ: Palace to Robredo: Duterte doesn’t use ‘Wang-wang’, ‘Di nga nag o-overtake eh!
“Ang… ang paniniwala ko, ang criminal justice approach, dapat gamitin iyon para sa mga drug suppliers and drug dealers. Pero as far as iyong… iyong drug addicts are concerned, it should be treated as an addiction, eh. Dapat mas heavy on community-based prevention,” she said.
Robredo, however, stressed that she isn’t for halting the war on drugs.
“[I]t’s time for government to step back and assess kung ano iyong kulang, kung ano iyong mali,” she said.
Robredo said she anticipated attacks from Duterte supporters following the Reuters interview, where she was quoted as saying that she wanted to stop the drug war.
READ: SWS survey: Duterte's Drug War gets 'Excellent' rating from Pinoys
The Vice President said she did not call for a halt to the drug war and that she did not intend to demean the efforts of those involved in it.
Robredo said the government should consider a different metric to gauge the success of the drug war, not just the number of those who surrendered.
"I have likened it to a feeding program. Tamang metrics kung nahinto mo 'yong malnutrition. Kahit ang dami [nag-]surrender bakit paakyat pa din nang paakyat ang numero ng drug addicts?" she said.
READ: Panelo dares Robredo, critics: 'Why don't YOU help solve traffic problem?'
(I have likened it to a feeding program. The metrics are correct if you stopped malnutrition. Even if many surrendered, why is the number of drug addicts still rising?)
WATCH LENI'S FULL INTERVIEW:
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This article first appeared on Politiko.
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