Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed the country’s vice president to lead the government’s crackdown against illegal drugs after she said the campaign was “not working”.
Duterte assigned Vice President Leni Robredo to be co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs until the end of his term in 2022, presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said on Tuesday.
“The chief executive’s ultimate motivation in making the appointment is the welfare of the Filipino people, with the hope that the government be successful in combatting the atrocity caused by the use and trade of illegal narcotics,’’ Panelo added.
Since Duterte became president in 2016, more than 5,000 suspects have been killed in police operations against illegal drugs, according to official statistics.
Estimates by human rights group said the number killed could be more than 12,000.
In an interview in October, Robredo said that the campaign had primarily targeted the poor and that it had failed to stop the illegal drugs trade. (dpa/NAN)