{"id":256795,"date":"2020-06-02T00:56:07","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T04:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=256795"},"modified":"2020-06-02T00:56:07","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T04:56:07","slug":"roque-to-un-exec-necessary-use-of-force-not-prohibited-by-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/06\/02\/roque-to-un-exec-necessary-use-of-force-not-prohibited-by-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Roque to UN exec: Necessary use of force not prohibited by State"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Roque made this remark in response to United Nations (UN) special rapporteur Agnes Callamard\u2019s claim that governments, including the Philippines, are supposedly using the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) health crisis as an excuse to implement “excessive force” on its citizens. (PCOO file photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said the use of force on the citizenry is not prohibited by the State as long as it is \u201cnecessary\u201d and \u201cproportional\u201d.<\/p>\n

Roque made this remark in response to United Nations (UN) special rapporteur Agnes Callamard\u2019s claim that governments, including the Philippines, are supposedly using the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) health crisis as an excuse to implement “excessive force” on its citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to say re-state the rule in international law: The use of force is not prohibited by the State provided it is necessary and it is proportional,\u201d Roque said in a virtual presser on Monday.<\/p>\n

He emphasized that the government has \u201csatisfied the criteria\u201d since President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of national emergency due to the Covid-19 health crisis on March 9, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the kind of responses, the use of force that we have seen satisfied this criteria, if not, then appropriate cases are filed whether be it criminal or administrative which is the duty of the state in case of an alleged violation of the Right to Life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Disciplined Filipinos<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interior Secretary Eduardo A\u00f1o also justified the use of force by law enforcement authorities, saying Filipinos are more disciplined when it comes to following quarantine protocols.<\/p>\n

\u201cMakikita natin ang pagsunod ng ating mga kababayan sa batas ay maganda. Ikumpara natin ito sa ibang bansa ay malaki ang diperensiya<\/em>\u00a0(We can see that Filipinos are really obedient when it comes to following the law. Compared to other countries, there\u2019s a big difference),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Because enforcement authorities were \u201cdoing good in terms of peace and order\u201d, A\u00f1o said the country experienced a 59 percent drop in crime rate, which he said is one of the many \u201cpositives\u201d achieved amid the health crisis.<\/p>\n

“I mean,\u00a0talaga namang<\/em>\u00a0by nature\u00a0ay disiplinado ang mga Pilipino<\/em>\u00a0(Filipinos by nature are really disciplined),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At a recent webinar hosted by rights group Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines titled “#NoLockdownOnRights\u201d, Callamard expressed fears that the “additional powers” given to authorities in countries that implemented lockdowns would only contribute to more human rights violations.<\/p>\n

Callamard also claimed that the Philippines has been acting beyond international law even before the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Long before the Covid-19 health crisis, she has criticized the administration\u2019s aggressive crackdown on illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, in countries like the Philippines, law enforcement is already acting beyond international law and allowing the use of force, so you can only imagine what those additional powers under a state of emergency,” she said.<\/p>\n

Not an expert<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roque, meanwhile, questioned Callamard\u2019s credentials, saying she is \u201cnot a specialist\u201d on the issue of extralegal killings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Professor Agnes, she\u2019s not a specialist on extralegal killings. She is a specialist on freedom of expression,\u201d Roque said.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that it would have been better if the UN appointed an actual expert on extralegal killings of the same caliber as former UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Philip Alston.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish Agnes good luck. I wish she could get tenure in her University, so that she could actually be recognized as an expert,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Callamard previously led a human rights organization promoting freedom of expression globally and conducted human rights investigations over 30 countries, according to her profile posted on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.<\/p>\n

She is also a special adviser to Columbia University president Lee Bollinger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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