Phl gov’t hit for ‘misleading’ UN rights body

MANILA, Philippines -  An alliance of human rights organizations monitoring the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the country’s rights situation by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland has criticized the Philippine government for misleading the rights body.

The UPR Watch said the Philippine report submitted to the UNHRC did not reflect the realities on the ground.

“Rights abuses remain unabated due to continuing repressive state policies and counter-insurgency programs and the socio-economic and political ills that plague the country,” the UPR Watch said in a statement issued after the review of the Philippines on Monday.

“These violations are state-sponsored, systemic and have affected a great majority of the Philippine population,” it said.

The alliance is composed of different civil society organizations, including the National Union of People’s Lawyers and rights group Karapatan. Some of its members sent delegates to Geneva to monitor the UNHRC review of the Philippines.

The UPR Watch claimed the Philippine delegation – led by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and deputy executive secretary for legal affairs Menardo Guevarra – has glossed over the numerous extrajudicial killings that continued in the country since its first review in 2008.

It said the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs and the counterinsurgency programs of the previous administrations “have resulted in the killings, disappearance, torture and illegal arrests, among other forms of rights abuses.”

On Monday, Rose Trajano of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates said the Philippine delegation appeared to have ignored a number of issues, particularly those involving the government’s war against illegal drugs. 

“Our representatives glossed over information, such as the statements of President Duterte,” she said, referring to the repeated warnings issued by the Chief Executive against drug suspects. 

Meanwhile, the administration has been urged to heed the clamor of the international community to allow an independent probe into the extrajudicial killings in the country.

Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said if the administration has nothing to hide, it should allow UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard to investigate the cases without any condition.

Aquino was referring to the response of UN member-states during the presentation of the Philippine delegation at the UPR on Monday.

Cayetano led the Philippine delegation in defending the country’s human rights record, covering the Aquino administration and the 10-month old Duterte government.

During the presentation, Cayetano said it is not the policy of the administration to promote extrajudicial killings. 

A clip from the President’s state of the nation address, wherein he vowed to uphold human rights, was played during the review.

Trajano said the international community is not “stupid” to simply ignore the other pronouncements of the President regarding the campaign against illegal drugs. 

“A lot of states are calling on the Philippines to avoid statements that may incite violence,” she said in Filipino. 

Trajano noted the focus on the war on drugs during the review highlights and that the issue has to be addressed by the government. 

“We have seen that this is a major issue. We are not stupid to not understand what the Philippine representatives are trying to do, to gloss over what is happening in the Philippines,” she added. 

Wake up call

Aquino said of the 47 UN member-states, 45 demanded that the Philippines should investigate the killings.

“This is a wake-up call for us. The whole world is seeking accountability on our part. If the request is to have a formal investigation happen, we should grant that request,” he said.

European Union Ambassador Franz Jessen clarified the EU is not interfering in the domestic affairs of the Philippines when it expressed concern over the drug-related killings and the human rights situation.

Jessen was responding to a question about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ call for its partners to honor the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the ASEAN member-states.

The same call has been made by Duterte to the EU and critics of his anti-drug campaign.

Most of the UN member-states asked the Philippine delegation to let Callamard look into the extrajudicial killings without conditions.

They also asked the Philippines not to revive the death penalty and lower the minimum age of criminal liability.

Callamard paid for Phl trip

Callamard paid for her own travel when she visited the Philippines to attend a drug policy forum, according to the organizers of the event.

“We did not pay for her trip. She took care of her travel here,” Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) chairman Jose Manuel Diokno said in a text message to The STAR.

Diokno issued the clarification after several groups claimed on social media that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) paid for Callamard’s travel.

CHR chairman Chito Gascon has denied the allegations, saying Callamard’s visit was based on the invitation of the FLAG and the forum organizers.

Malacañang has criticized Callamard for reportedly not informing the government of her visit.

FLAG executive director Maria Socorro Diokno said the UN representative followed protocols, including informing the Philippine government before traveling to Manila for the event.

‘Double slap’ 

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, described the call of the UNHRC member-states a “double-slap” on the face of the Philippine delegation.

“The UNHRC ignored the fictional boasts of Cayetano on the human rights accomplishments of the Duterte regime,” De Lima said in a statement yesterday.

  She said the second part of the double-slap came with the call to have Callamard conduct a probe after she was criticized and cursed by officials and allies of the administration. – With Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, Rhodina Villanueva, Pia Lee-Brago