Palace to US House panel: We adhere to rule of law, protect human rights

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines remains “as firm as ever” in protecting human rights, Malacañang said Thursday after a US House caucus urged US President Donald Trump to raise rights concerns with President Rodrigo Duterte in their upcoming meeting.

In a letter dated November 2, Reps. Randy Hultgren (R-Illinois) and James McGovern (D-Massachusetts), co-chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, called on Trump to use his meeting with Duterte as an opportunity to confront the Philippine leader about the reported cases of extrajudicial killings under the crackdown on drugs.

READ: US House caucus urges Trump to raise rights concerns with Duterte

Hultgren and McGovern also informed the American leader about the results of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing early this year, where they learned that Philippine police have killed 7,000 suspected drug dealers “without charges or trial.”

READ: Fairness sought in US probe on drug war

Reacting to the letter, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that while the Palace will not comment on Washington’s internal affairs, Duterte and Trump’s “warm rapport” would allow a “candid” discussion on matters of shared interest.

“We reiterate that our adherence to the rule of law remains as firm as ever, as is our commitment to the protection of human rights. The government is investigating allegations of so-called extrajudicial killings, including homicide cases with drug-related motives,” Roque said.

Roque earlier this month acknowledged that extrajudicial killings have been happening since as early as the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2001 to 2010. He said the police cannot ignore that the Supreme Court as well as international law have working definitions of extrajudicial killings.

“Ongoing investigations include the conduct of public congressional hearings. All these are undertaken precisely to ensure that due process and the rule of law prevails despite the Philippines' significant drug problem,” Roque said Thursday.

Figures from the government's #RealNumbersPH campaign put the number of drug suspects killed in government operations since July 2016 at 3,967. 

Earlier, a White House official reportedly said that Trump plans on discussing the human rights situation in the Philippines on his forthcoming meeting with Duterte.

READ: Trump to raise human rights with Duterte at ASEAN Summit

Duterte and Trump are set to hold their first bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila next week.

The two will also meet at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vietnam this week.

Before leaving for APEC on Wednesday, Duterte, who brooks no criticism of his human rights record and war on drugs, said he wants Trump to lay off the topic of human rights during their first bilateral meeting.

“Lay off, that is my business. I take care of my country,” Duterte said.

The maverick Philippine leader earlier incited diplomatic alarm after he announced Manila’s “separation” from its century-old alliance with Washington after former US President Barack Obama criticized the firebrand Philippine leader’s drug war.

Ties between the two countries’ later improved upon Trump’s election victory. In a telephone conversation last April, Trump had told his Philippine counterpart he was doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”