Malacanang cautioned on Wednesday Vice President Leni Robredo from issuing "unfounded" statements.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella was reacting on the video message made by Robredo for the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna.

In the video, Robredo mentioned about the "palit ulo" scheme or "exchange heads," where the wife or husband or relative of a person in a so-called drug list will be taken if the person himself could not be found.

"Eight months into our campaign against illegal drugs, Vice President Robredo, suddenly refers to an alleged 'palit-ulo' scheme - which she mistakenly describes as substituting a relative for a missing drug personality," Abella said.

"While she has the right to speak freely on matters of public concern, she also has the responsibility to be careful with her statements especially avoiding unfounded allegations from questionable sources," he stressed.

Abella explained the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) "palit-ulo" scheme, which the vice president "gravely misunderstood, refers to a commitment of a drug suspect to provide assistance in the arrest of a 'bigger fish' in the illegal drug syndicate, whether an up-line/superior/supplier of the arrested suspect, in exchange for lighter charges."

He noted that President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed Executive Order 15, creating an Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs and Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force, where the entire bureaucracy has been harnessed to assist in the implementation of the anti-illegal drugs campaign.

The committee is chaired by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), with 20 other departments and agencies as members. Celerina Monte/DMS