Duterte to gov’t troops: Do not answer UN rapporteurs’ probe

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in his speech during the opening ceremony of the National Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Challenge at the Team Davao Inc. Pistol and Rifle Range in Ma-a, Davao City on March 1, 2018, expresses his admiration for the SWAT’s role in dealing with criminality, illegal drugs and terrorism. KIWI BULACLAC/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, March 1, directed government forces not to answer questions coming from the United Nations (UN) rapporteurs who seek to investigate the situation of human rights under his administration.

The President made this statement after Iceland Foreign Minister Gudkaugur thor Thordarson called on the Philippines to allow a UN rapporteur who will look into the controversial war on drugs.

“Pagdating ng human rights o sino mang rapporteur diyan, ang order ko sa inyo (When human rights rapporteurs arrive, my order to you is) — Do not answer. Do not bother,” Duterte said during the National Special Weapon and Tactics (swat) Challenge in Davao City.

“Why would we be answering — Bakit sino sila (Who are they)? And who are you to interfere in the way I would run my country? You know very well that we are being swallowed by drugs,” he added.

In the same speech, Duterte also lamented that it is easy to run a democratic country.

“This is democracy and that is the reason we are pretty hard up. It is not easy to run a government that is democratic because of the so many rights of the citizens,” he said.

“’Yang (That) police power, power of eminent domain, and taxation — those are the fundamentals. ‘Yun ang pinaka-core na power ng gobyerno (That is the core power of the government). But there is a firewall also and that is the Bill of Rights — due process, right to be heard, lawyer, during an investigation, and all of these things. And that is why we can hardly cope up,” he added.

The President said that it is the reason why terrorists say that they are determined and would not hesitate to kill.

“For the same reason, we will not hesitate and we will not be afraid to kill. Sigurado ‘yan (That is for sure),” the Chief Executive added.

On February 27, the Palace said it was open to an investigation by the UN, but stood firm to its decision that it should not be done by special rapporteur Agnes Callamard.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that he would recommend another UN special rapporteur who can investigate the government’s anti-drug campaign.

“If they’re going to send a special rapporteur, it should be someone credible, an authority in the field they seek to investigate in, and must be objective and unbiased,” Roque said.

The Palace official noted that it was Callamard’s shortcoming that the home state does not want her in. He said that one of the qualifications of a special rapporteur is to be “trustworthy enough” to be able to start an investigation.