Philippines: President Duterte warns VP to keep state secrets confidential

President of Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has warned the Vice President to remove her from the “drugs tsar” post if she shares the internal state secrets with foreign individuals and entities. The President made the warnings that came a few days after he offered Leni Robredo a lead role in his brutal war on drugs which was later accepted by her. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said that disclosing state secrets to foreign individuals and entities who have crushed the country's sovereignty would be damaging to the welfare of the people of the Philippines.

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Robredo's meet with UN officials

He further added that she may not be able to realise it which could lead to serious consequences. Duterte has lashed out to a resolution by the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate the killings and responded to a preliminary examination by the ICC by pulling the Philippines out of the organization. Robredo, a political rival of the popular Duterte said that international help should be sought, including the UN and ICJ if the government refused to change tack and stop abusive police. Robredo met with the officials from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), advocacy groups and US Embassy previous week to discuss the drug problem.

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'Narco-state'

According to the reports, Robredo is appointed as one of the two heads of an inter-agency committee that will be including the police and the military and is tasked with overseeing and coordinating the government's efforts to combat illegal drugs. The campaign was reportedly launched in 2016 after President Duterte's election. That time the President claimed that the Philippines had become a 'narco-state'. President Duterte later called on members of the public to kill drug addicts and dealers and said that he would offer a bounty to the police for killing suspected users and sellers of narcotics. The campaign has reportedly led to approximately 6,600 dealers, however, the Human Rights group has cited a higher death toll. 

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