Palace to UN: ‘No need to remind us, we’re probing HR abuses’

FILE: Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the government has its own human rights inventory to determine if law enforcement authorities comply with th rule of law and due process (PCOO photo)

MANILA — Malacañang on Saturday shrugged off the joint statement made by 38 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) urging the Philippine government to stop the alleged extrajudicial killings in its crackdown against illegal drugs, saying there is no need for a reminder.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the government has its own human rights inventory to determine if law enforcement authorities comply with the rule of law and due process.

“Well, maski po walang ganyang panawagan eh talaga naman pong ipinatutupad ng Kongreso ang batas (even without such a call, Congress is already implementing the law),” Roque said in a message to reporters.

“May imbentaryo kami nung mga napatay diumano sa giyera laban sa droga para malaman namin kung talagang nasunod ba ang tamang proseso o hindi (We have records of those allegedly killed in the war against drugs to find out if the right process was followed or not),” he added.

Roque further said that the government does not need to be reminded by foreigners since it was already doing its job.

“Hindi namin kinakailangan ang panawagan ng mga dayuhan. Ginagawa na po namin ‘yan maski walang ganyang panawagan (We don’t need to be called out by foreigners. We’re already doing that even without their call),” Roque said.

On June 19, the UNHRC urged the Philippine government to end its war on drugs and also participate in its efforts to investigate all alleged deaths linked to the aggressive drug campaign.

“We urge the government of the Philippines to take all necessary measures to bring killings associated with the campaign against illegal drugs to an end and cooperate with the international community to investigate all related deaths and hold perpetrators accountable,” the UNHRC member states said.

“While acknowledging that drug use in the Philippines is a serious problem, actions to tackle drug abuse must be carried out in full respect of the rule of law and compliance with international human rights obligations,” they added.

Last March, Malacañang bared that the UN is looking for another special rapporteur to investigate the anti-narcotics drive.

“The last word that I had with the SFA (Secretary of Foreign Affairs) in this regard is, apparently the UN Secretary General (Antonio Guterres) said that they will be proposing names. We’re waiting (for) the names,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace media briefing last March 8.

Malacañang earlier slammed special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Agnes Callamard for coming unannounced “at that time when we were in the process of negotiating her investigation into the drug war.”

Callamard visited the Philippines in May 2017 to attend a forum on illegal drugs at the invitation of a group critical of Duterte. She did not inform the government of her visit.

“We cannot forgive Callamard. She entered the Philippines uninvited and made her conclusions as if she already made investigation. Maybe it will take time before the wounds caused by Callamard’s action would heal,” Roque said.

Roque, however, said that Callamard is still welcome to visit the Philippines as a tourist, so long as she does not make it appear that her visit was done as part of an investigation.

“She is welcome because we welcome all tourists. But she should not make it appear that she is investigating when she visits because visiting the Philippines is not equivalent to investigating,” he said.