Seeing Duterte address the UNGA via YouTube

I opened my YouTube channel and saw President Rodrigo Duterte speaking before the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday. It was great to see the president talk about so many points before the UN, although would have preferred if he was there personally. It wasn’t a great speech, but it was a speech that Pres. Duterte would normally make here in the country. He even defended the Anti-Terrorism Law and also the “reckless response” to it.

It was the first time the president was addressing the high-level meeting of 193 nations where Pres. Duterte underscored the need for the law, citing the Philippines’ experience with the Marawi siege in 2017 which involved foreign fighters linked to the international terrorist group Islamic State.

The president also said that the Philippines will do everything and partner with anyone who would sincerely desire to protect the innocent from terrorism in all its manifestations.

The president continued, “Our 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act shores up the legal framework by focusing on both terrorism and the usual reckless response to it.” He added that about 1,000 militants and more than 160 government troopers died during the Marawi siege. The five-month siege, the longest urban war in the Philippines since World War II, displaced about 360,000 people. This incident also prompted Duterte to impose martial law in the entire island of Mindanao for more than two years.

President Duterte said the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Law adheres strictly to relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the UN Global counterterrorism strategy.

“Most importantly, we remain committed to rebuild stricken communities and address the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism in my country,” the president added.

The president earlier said that some sectors expressed fears that the Anti-Terrorism Law will be used to run after critics of the government and suppress civil liberties. He said that the law has enough safeguards against abuses. Still, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed concerns about the measure, saying it could have “a further chilling effect on human rights and humanitarian work, hindering support to vulnerable communities.”

It may have only been a Zoom speech before the 75th UNGA. But at least the 193 member nations heard Pres. Duterte for the first time. I’m sure that some high-ranking officials may have been wondering how Pres. Duterte was able to secure a high-level popularity rating as compared to their immediate heads of state.

Meanwhile, Pres. Duterte used the same venue to push for the protection of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) spread all over the world, many of them health workers who opted to continue in the frontlines instead of being repatriated. He said that 345,000 OFWs need to come home as a result of the pandemic. “We have brought back half and are bringing back the rest,” he said of the Philippines’ biggest repatriation program to date due to the global pandemic. He also noted how many of them are seafarers who have been rendered jobless because of the halt in shipping activities, particularly those catering to tourism. Duterte also thanked nations who assisted Filipinos stranded in their countries.

During his UNGA address, the president said "the UN remains humanity's [most] essential organization." The UNGA is the main deliberative body of the United Nations, where all 193 member states are represented. On Monday, Chief of Presidential Protocol for Foreign Affairs Robert Borje disclosed that the president would touch on his coronavirus response, the rule of law, and human rights, among others, during his talk.

He enjoined every country to adhere to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, citing the need for “stronger cooperation in promoting and protecting the rights of migrants, regardless of their migrant status. He added that the UN should ensure that all nations would be able to secure the expected vaccine against COVID-19 as a global challenge to the UN.

Call it timely that YouTube featured the president’s UNGA speech and I was able to see it in full. I’m really glad that the president was able to address the UNGA even via Zoom so at least those heads of states who physically attended the 75th UNGA in New York were able to hear our president.