PH gov’t open to ‘neutral’ special rapporteurs from UN

FILE: Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, Jr. (PCOO Photo)

Amid heated arguments between President Rodrigo Duterte and United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Husein, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the Philippine government still welcomes special rapporteurs to visit the country and conduct a probe as long as they are neutral investigators.

“We welcome special rapporteurs provided they be impartial, neutral and willing to investigate, rather than those already having conclusions and wanting to justify them through an investigation,” Roque said in a Palace news conference on Monday, March 12.

Roque’s statement came after Zeid suggested that Duterte needs to see a psychiatrist, and Duterte threatening to feed to crocodiles any special rapporteur from UN who will come to the country to investigate his campaign against illegal drugs.

Despite saying that the UN commissioner’s pronouncement was “uncalled for,” Malacañang said this will not affect the openness of the country to let UN rapporteur investigate the killings linked to the administration’s war on drugs and alleged human rights violations.

The spokesman also reiterated that the remark made by Zeid against the Chief Executive was unacceptable and was an insult to the nation’s sovereignty.

“I think the matter of the statement by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights is being treated very seriously. It’s being treated as a diplomatic affront. It’s wholly unacceptable,” he stressed.

Roque, however, said that such statement will not be a reason to not allow UN probers to conduct an investigation in the Philippines.

“Well, the comments are wholly unacceptable. And I would say that for now, there are already communications between no less than the UN Secretary-General and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs,” the Palace official said.

“Let’s just say that that kind of a comment is not conducive to having further investigations on the Philippines by any special rapporteur. But as I said, the communications are ongoing, let’s see what happens,” he continued.

In a news conference last Friday, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein recommended that Duterte should undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

“These attacks cannot go unanswered, the UN Human Rights Council must take a position,” Zeid said.

“It makes one believe that the president needs to submit himself to some sort of psychiatric examination. This kind of comment is unacceptable, unacceptable,” he added.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, one of Duterte’s staunchest critics, agreed to this remark, noting that this psychiatric evaluation will be for the safety of the whole Filipino nation.

“For the sake of the safety and well-being of the entire Filipino nation whose lives are subjected to his power, I call on Duterte to prove that he has a sound mental health by going through a psychiatric evaluation,” Trillanes said on Sunday.

He added that Duterte’s “murderous and erratic ways plus his crass, twisted and perverted” remarks are indications of a “deeply sick mind.

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