Philippines opposition leader, drug war critic Leni Robredo takes up Duterte’s offer of ‘drugs tsar’

The vice president of the Philippines on Wednesday accepted President Rodrigo Duterte’s offer of a lead role in his brutal war on drugs, even though she expected her political rival’s administration would try to thwart her progress. The appointment followed criticism by Leni Robredo in an interview with Reuters and subsequent media appearances, which angered Duterte, whose drugs crackdown has killed thousands and prompted activists to call for international intervention. Allies had warned Robredo, who was elected separately and has an adversarial relationship with Duterte, that the offer of “drugs tsar”, or a joint chair of a panel on illegal drugs, was a trap to ensure her embarrassment and failure. She said she was sceptical about Duterte’s motives, but would take a chance. Is Duterte’s ‘drug tsar’ job offer to opposition leader Robredo for real? “I am against the killings of the innocent, I am against abuses committed by officials. He knows my criticism. He knows what I plan to fix,” Robredo told a news conference. “If the president is thinking that I will keep quiet because I accepted the offer, he is wrong.” A statement from the president’s office welcomed Robredo “fresh perspective” to the role, and that the government believed “that the loudest critics should act beyond mere observers, but be active contributors for change”. “With the perceived graveness of the drug situation in the Philippines, immediate actions must be taken in response to the matter,” the statement said. “We welcome the inputs and contributions of Vice-President Leni Robredo, who has been very vocal about the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs, and look forward to the results she can produce. “In these times, we should focus on our common goal of ridding the scourge of drugs from our local communities ... The offer of the President is a genuine opportunity to turn criticisms into constructive inputs in the campaign against illegal drugs.” Duterte’s loyalists had urged her to take the role, saying she had plenty of criticism and should put her ideas into practice. Ronald dela Rosa, a policeman turned senator and former drugs war commander, said Robredo had a chance to impress. “This is the time for her to shine... I will pray for her success,” he said on television. Philippines’ Duterte likens himself to Hitler, wants to kill millions of drug addicts The crackdown is popular among Filipinos, with a September opinion poll showing 82 per cent of respondents believed it effective, although critics say it has been failed to curb addiction or drugs supply or rein in drugs kingpins. Activists have accused police of executions and cover-ups on a massive scale being ignored by the government. Police killed only in self defence, the administration says. In an October 23 interview, Robredo said the death toll was too high and international help should be sought if the government kept tolerating abusive police. On Wednesday, she said she had nothing to lose. “If could save at least one innocent life, my principles and heart are telling me I should give this a try,” she said. “They are asking me if I am ready for this job? My question is: Are you ready for me?” The president’s spokesman Salvador Panelo insisted Robredo would be welcome in Duterte’s cabinet. “Her acceptance shows she is smarter than her colleagues in the opposition,” he said in a text message. However, political analyst Ramon Casiple said on Tuesday that politics aside, Robredo was not in a position to decline. “There’s the obligation, not just a personal decision. If you were elected and the president sought for help, you will [respond],” he said. Human rights activists have accused police of operating with impunity, with the implied support of a president who once vowed to kill 100,000 dealers, and said he would be happy to slaughter millions of addicts. He has since said he uses hyperbole to stress a point and denies inciting murder. Estimates of the number killed during the drugs war vary significantly, but thousands of users and alleged dealers have wound up dead outside of official police operations, many in mysterious circumstances. Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana of the Commission on Human Rights was hopeful Robredo could stop the killings. “Are we going to look at addicts as victims?” she said. “The approach would not be to kill them but to rehabilitate them.” Duterte reacted with fury to a resolution by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the killings, and responded to a preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court by pulling the Philippines out of the organisation.