AS we can remember, Vice President Leni Robredo was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to co-chair the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) in 2019. She then proceeded to hold various meetings with involved agencies, including the United Nations on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Shortly thereafter, Robredo was fired, with reasons, among others, that such meeting with the UN was a misstep and that she could not be trusted because she was from the opposition. However, despite her short-lived co-chairmanship, Robredo was able to submit weekly reports to Malacañang. If read by the President, we don’t know.
What stands out for me is the tainted reputation of the police force in the massive failure of Operation Tokhang. What was aimed at merely persuading suspects from drugs became synonymous to killings, or bluntly extra-judicial killings.
How can the PNP restore its credibility? Simple, transparency. Follow the law. Abandon Operation Tokhang. This way, the people can be assured of due process and the police cannot in any way abuse authority. This way, healing begins.