MANILA, Philippines — The government should look into the involvement of Chinese nationals in the proliferation of illegal drugs in the Philippines, Vice President Leni Robredo said Thursday.
Robredo, recently designated as co-chair of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs, noted that most drug supplies in the country come from China.
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"I want to gather more data, because the reports
that we have, most of the supply that enters the country comes from China," Robredo told
reproters.
The vice president met with the law enforcement cluster to discuss the government's anti-narcotics campaign.
"Even those being caught operating within the Philippines, most of them are Chinese nationals or Filipino-Chinese nationals. So it is something that we should look into," she said.
Rorbedo also noted that the government needs to organize the information that it is getting on the drug situation in the country.
She stressed that there is a need to review how the government has been reacting or responding to all the information and how to improve its current strategy.
Asked if she will also tap the Chinese Embassy, Robredo said she would first study which countries would have the most urgent information needed by the Philippines.
Earlier this week, the vice president met with United States and United Nations officials to discuss cooperation on the anti-drugs campaign and share best practices.
"It can ha
ve any of the countries even those that we do not have partnerships with, but have been helping is in the past as the campaign against illegal drugs is concerned," Robredo said.
Robredo, however, noted that the Philippines has been exchanging information with the Chinese and Vietnamese governments over the campaign against illegal drugs.
President Rodrigo Duterte previously claimed that China is harboring drug lords who smuggle illegal drugs into the Philippines. The president, however, did not name the alleged drug lords.
“Where is the big fish [in illegal drugs]? If you want them, go to China. Look for them there,” Duterte said in July 2016, a month after assuming the presidency.