The director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has invited Vice President Leni Robredo, the newly appointed anti-drug czar, to join a drug raid to give her an idea of the conditions police face when they launch such operations.
The invitation makes good copy, but it seems to be aimed at driving home a point to the public rather than the vice president, and upon closer examination, lacks any genuine sincerity or readiness to help.
“I gave her an invitation so she’ll know that what she’s saying that nobody should die in anti-illegal drug operations is impossible,” PDEA Director-General Aaron Aquino was quoted in one news report as saying. “She does not understand what goes on in those operations. There will be casualties especially if the enemy is armed and dangerous. The possibility of encounters is high.”
Aquino, who co-chairs the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) with Robredo, said he would secure the Vice President and would even accompany her.
“I’ll make sure the Vice President is secure. I have experience in securing the President,” he said, pointing to his eight years in the Presidential Security Group during previous administrations.
Should Robredo join the raids, she would be equipped with a Kevlar helmet and bulletproof vest, and would only be able to access a target area after it has been secured and cleared.
Seriously?
Does the PDEA chief really think it is a good idea to bring the second highest official in the land, decked out in a Kevlar helmet and a bulletproof vest, into harm’s way?
Would he have made the same invitation if someone less critical of current police tactics were appointed to be his co-chair?
If Aquino sincerely wanted the vice president to get a closer look at a real drug raid, he could have simply invited her to watch on a remote monitor while police commandos, equipped with body cameras, conducted such an operation.
That he did not do this suggests that he was more interested in scoring points in public than actually cooperating with the vice president in private.
The vice president, on the other hand, should consider tempering any sweeping statements that suggest that she believes the police are interested in nothing else than killing drug suspects. There are instances, after all, when the suspects really do shoot first. She should welcome the opportunity to gain a better appreciation of how police raids are carried out.
The co-chairs of the ICAD need to stop wasting time on posturing and issuing public pronouncements that embarrass the other, and focus on working together to get the job done.