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Duterte’s 3-year drug war has seized just 1 per cent of Philippines’ crystal meth: Robredo
- Vice-President brands war on drugs a costly failure after report based on government’s own data
- Until now, the government has been vague about the drug’s presence in the country
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The Philippines Vice-President Leni Robredo on Monday branded President Rodrigo Duterte’s three-year war on drugs “a failure” as she revealed statistics showing authorities had seized only about one per cent of all the crystal meth in the country.
Issuing a 40-page report based on the government’s own data, the vice-president said authorities had also seized just one per cent of all the money earned from the sale of illegal drugs throughout the three-year campaign.
“Just think,” she concluded, “if this were an exam, the government score would be one out of 100.”
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The presidential palace was quick to respond, with spokesman Salvador Panelo calling her report “a dud”.
“There is nothing new in what she said [and] it doesn’t mean it’s a failure even if it’s just one per cent,” Panelo argued.
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“I think the failure is her sitting in ICAD,” he added, referring to Duterte’s appointment of Robredo as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs.
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