Special EU envoy Angara: No need to take offense at rights report

MANILA, Philippines —The government should consider the latest annual European Union Report on human rights as an “eye opener” and not criticism, special envoy to the EU Edgardo Angara said.

Angara, a former senator, said President Rodrigo Duterte should not be offended by the EU Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World.

“To us, it’s an eye opener. It’s an impetus for us to look at it and do something,” Angara said on ANC’s “Headstart.”

He pointed out that the country is not being singled out by the bloc’s report since EU’s human rights monitor group also looks into other countries.

“They’re not saying: ‘You should not fight the drug lords or peddlers.’ They’re saying: ‘But please tell your policemen not to shoot them, not to kill them. They should catch them, prosecute and rehabilitate,’” the special envoy to the EU said.

While he has reservations regarding the report, Angara believes what the bloc’s human rights monitor group found out is not “totally incorrect.”

READ: Angara: Philippines, EU not going through divorce

According to the EU report, the human rights situation in the Philippines worsened in the second half of 2016 as a consequence of the new administration's so-called war on drugs.

“The second half of the year was marked by a serious deterioration in respect for the right to life, due process and the rule of law,” it said.

Citing media reports, the report noted that around 6,000 people were killed from July to mid-December in 2016.

READ: EU raises rights concerns in Philippines in annual report

According to the Philippine National Police, there have been 6,225 drug-related deaths between July 2016 and September 2017.

The latest #RealNumbersPH government data release has raised the number of people killed in drug operations to 3,906.

The government has disputed media reports and those made by independent human rights monitors, saying these are bloated to make the administration look bad.

Malacañang on Tuesday described the EU report as “a rehash of criticisms” that were supposedly hurled by defeated political parties considering the period covered by the report.

Duterte during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Law Association session Wednesday told the EU to “go to hell” if it would continue to ignore his explanation for his repeated tirades.

The chief executive said that Angara has been trying to explain the context of his tirades against some members of the bloc over their call to stop alleged human rights violations in the pursuit of his war on drugs.