By Chito Chavez With the appointment of Vice-President Leni Robredo as co-chairman of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)  expressed high optimism that abusive and violent acts against militant groups, student activists and suspected criminals specifically illegal drug personalities will be protected. Vice President Leni Robredo
(Juan Carlo de Vela / MANILA BULLETIN) CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said that with Robredo, being a vocal advocate of human rights, this could translate into the better observance of human rights standards. This human right standards include greater transparency in drug operations; investigations into alleged cases of extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, and other human rights observations. She asserted that demanding accountability from those who violated the law and human dignity including law enforcers must be prioritized. To recall, Robredo accepted President Duterte's offer to have her onboard the controversial drug war after she expressed that the campaign should be re-evaluated. But several weeks after being appointed to the post, Robredo encountered rough sailing up to the point where her co-chairman Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino invited her to actual illegal drug operations to dispel the Vice-President’s suspicions that the rights of the suspects are violated. Aquino insisted that killings during illegal drug operations and raids cannot be avoided especially when the armed suspects engage the anti-narcotics agents in gun battles. The apparent rift between Robredo and the Duterte men escalated further when the request of Vice-President for a copy of the High Value Target (HVT) list was apparently turned down by Aquino. Aquino even questioned why Robredo wanted to have the list of the HVT. In his succeeding statements, Aquino said the Vice-President may be allowed to go through the HVT list during closed door meetings in the presence of other officials with security clearances. For her part, Robredo assured there was no hidden agenda behind her request for more information about the government’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs. She explained that viewing what occurred in the past three years would assist her in giving inputs to further improve the anti-illegal drug campaign of the government. Robredo also said she will let concerned agencies conduct their own internal cleansing and not waste her time “ghost hunting.” Earlier, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for External and Legislative Affairs Ricojudge Echiverri objected on the release of the drug war data to Robredo. Also, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairman Chito Gascon had requested for access to such information from ICAD with Robredo at the helm.