‘UN should not send Agnes Callamard to probe Pilippine killings’

MANILA, Philippines — If the United Nations (UN) wants to get the full cooperation of the Duterte administration in its review of the human rights situation in the country particularly the allegations of rampant extrajudicial killings, then it should stop insisting on sending special rapporteur Agnes Callamard to do the job, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.

Lacson said he understands the position of Malacañang against having Callamard conduct the review, as it does not trust her to be fair anymore.

“I understand where they are coming from. Rightly or wrongly, the President is more than convinced that Agnes Callamard can no longer be objective and fair if she is the one to conduct the investigation,” Lacson said.

He explained that if the UN insists on sending Callamard and not someone else, then the world body should not expect to get the cooperation it wants from the government.

“Besides it would do the UN well if they consider the credibility of their investigation. Again, rightly or wrongly, insisting on sending Callamard might not provide that credibility,” he stressed.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said the UN should just consider the position of the administration and send a different special rapporteur to the Philippines, arguing that the Philippine government would not be able to hide the facts about the killings anyway.

“The entire country and the world have been witness to the brutal killings that have reached over 20,000 persons. But the way they (administration) lie (about) it is as if nothing actually happened,” he claimed.

He said that he is more interested in the case filed against Duterte before the International Criminal Court than the review of the UN.

Unlike a UN review which is usually treated as mere report, Trillanes said ICC findings actually could hold the President accountable for his crimes.