Inadequacy of funding support will imperil the success of Vice President Leni Robredo as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD).

The multi-million peso funds appropriated to sustain the bloody war on illegal drugs and related intelligence outlays embedded in the proposed 2020 appropriations for the Philippine National Police (PNP) should be specifically reallocated to ICAD to support Robredo’s non-violent and innovative approaches to solve the drug menace.

Even the President’s huge intelligence and confidential funds amounting to P4.5-B, which purportedly include covert operations on the violent drug war, should also be reduced to augment the funds of the ICAD.

In the proposed 2020 national budget, there is no line item for the funding of the ICAD, although it is claimed that a measly amount of P15-M is included in the miscellaneous and other operating expenses (MOOE) of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for the ICAD.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN