Palace to EU: Don’t link trade to EJK

MANILA, Philippines - Economic activities should not be tied with allegations of extrajudicial killings, Malacañang said yesterday, after the European Union’s head of delegation here warned that the country’s trade with the regional bloc could be affected by human rights violations.

According to EU Ambassador Franz Jessen, the bloc is expected to come up with its report on the Philippines’ compliance with various treaties on human rights, labor, corruption and other international conventions toward the end of the year as part of a review on trade privileges granted to the country.

The report is expected to be the basis of whether or not the Philippines will continue to enjoy zero-tariff privileges on over 6,200 of its export products to EU markets under the General System of Preferences-Plus or GSP+ status.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella maintained the government is not behind the killings and assured the EU that the Philippines would honor its international commitments.

“Non-trade accusations, especially if baseless and undeserved, should therefore not be linked with trade programs,” Abella said in a statement.

“We assure our friends and allies that the Philippines will respect its international commitments,” he added.

Jessen said last week the spate of killings and human rights violations linked to the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs could have an impact on trade between the Philippines and Europe.

He said the EU was not imposing United Nations conventions on the Philippines but was expecting the country to comply with its international commitments, a requirement for forging a free trade agreement with the regional bloc.

He said the EU is monitoring the Philippines’ compliance with UN conventions and would “carefully consider” the implications of its findings on its trade with the country.

Thousands of suspected drug offenders have been killed since President Duterte assumed office last year.

Total two-way trade between the Philippines and the EU amounted to 12.9 billion euros in 2015, making the regional bloc Manila’s fourth-largest trading partner, trade department data showed.

Abella said Philippine authorities are conducting “legitimate police operations” that require the observance of operational protocols.

“Police authorities who breach procedures are answerable to the law,” he said.

Abella claimed that Filipinos appreciate the “long-awaited peace and order” under Duterte.

“The President’s war against dangerous drug traffickers intends to protect the innocent which illegal drugs would destroy,” the presidential spokesman said.

“The Philippines is also now ready for economic takeoff, as evidenced by the record high foreign direct investments at $7.9 billion in 2016 or 44 percent higher than previous year, more so as we institute discipline and restore peace and order,” he added.

Abella also asked the European Parliament, which has called for an independent probe on the killings linked to Duterte’s war on drugs, to be the Philippines’ partner in nation building.

“We would rather that the European Parliament engage us as partners in nation-building, as the visionary EU business community seems to intend themselves,” he said.

Last month the EP passed a resolution calling on the EU to “support the establishment at the UN Human Rights Council of an independent international investigation into unlawful killings and other violations by the Philippines” in the context of Duterte’s war on drugs.

The Parliament also called for the “immediate release” of Sen. Leila de Lima, a fierce critic of Duterte who was jailed over charges that she received bribes from drug lords in the national penitentiary.

Duterte has lambasted the EU for supposedly meddling with his anti-drug campaign, saying it cannot lecture about morality because its member-states killed millions of people when they conquered other nations.

He also claimed that the EU has proposed setting up clinics in the Philippines where addicts can get their drug fix but this was denied by the regional bloc.

Under assessment

Jessen told reporters last week a follow-up mission was conducted in February after the first one the previous month “done in very close cooperation” with the Departments of Trade and Industry, and Foreign Affairs.

“They’re (EU mission) now doing the report… and they’ve been a number of questions that they’ve asked the Philippine side, and the Philippine side will be replying to those questions,” Jessen said.

He said the “questions” cover several areas, particularly on the country’s compliance with 27 UN conventions – from human rights and child labor to climate change – to which it is a signatory.