Naghanap ng kakampi! Robredo seeks CBCP, private sector’s help in anti-drug campaign

Vice President Leni Robredo

Manila, Philippines - Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday said she will meet the officials of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and other advocacy groups to discuss the possible participation in the government's campaign against illegal drugs.

Robredo said after the meeting with the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), have come up with the idea of exploring the possibility of seeking help from the private sectors and other civil society groups.

The ICAD needs the CBCP's help to tap a strategic partnership among barangays, the Church and other faith-based organizations known as Ugnayan ng Barangay at Simbahan (UBAS), the vice president said. 

"Mayroon akong meeting soon with the CBCP. Hihingiin ko iyong tulong nila para ma-activate iyong mga UBAS," Robredo told reporters in Camarines Sur.

"UBAS" was first visualized by the former Interior Sec. Jesse Robredo, the Vice President’s late husband.

 “Ngayon, iyong mga may active na UBAS, ang ganda ng… ang ganda ng anti-illegal drugs campaign nila. So tinitingnan namin na doon kami papasok,” Robredo announced to the reporters in Camarines Sur.

The Vice President, as the co-chairperson of the ICAD said she wants the private sector’s help to reactivate UBAS where people should feel that they are part of the campaign. 

The government will create a platform where private organizations can engage with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Robredo added.

“Sa side namin, ito iyong ginagawa namin ngayon: gawan ng platform iyong mga private organizations to engage with DILG, para isa lang iyong… isa lang iyong strategy na sinusunod,” she said.

"Ang tingin natin, this is a step in the right direction, kasi iyong mas organized na kampanya iyong hinahanap natin... iyong isang strategy lang ang sinusunod," she said.

President Duterte tapped Robredo as ICAD co-chair last week, after the vice president said that the government's war on drugs have been unsuccessful.

Robredo plans to steer the program into a campaign without "senseless killings," incidents unlike what the Duterte administration had done that drawn so much international criticism.

However, the government has denied involvement in the extrajudicial killings, and said, those killed in drug raids had resisted arrest.

Source: ABS-CBN