PDEA willing to share to Robredo top drug suspects’ list, but in closed-door meeting

November 17, 2019

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino on Saturday clarified that he was not trying to hide to Vice President Leni Robredo the list of alleged top drug suspects in the country.

In a statement, Aquino explained that the classified information would be available to Robredo during a "closed-door meeting only with the presence of personnel with security clearance."

He said not everyone might have access or copy of the list.

Robredo, who is Aquino's co-chair at the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti Illegal Drugs, has sought to have the said list. However, Aquino reportedly rejected the request.

Aquino said the high value target list could not be presented or discussed during any meeting of the ICAD.

"In the simplest explanation - if we will give the list to VP, we will not be able to know who else will have access to it. That will compromise our negation operations," said the PDEA chief.

He said the restriction is part of the "need to know rule" followed by the government where not everyone, including high-ranking officials, was given security clearance to access classified and sensitive data.

"I myself has no copy of the list in my possession. What I am doing is I check it from time to time with my intelligence service and conduct workshops against these personalities," Aquino said.

Aquino said the decision is "not an act of resistance or disrespect to VP Robredo" but a "mere standard operation procedure on law enforcement operations." Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS