No to UN HR probe

I stand by the Philippine government's rejection of any United Nations-initiated investigation of the country's anti-illegal drug campaign. Such an investigation has no legal basis. It is a farce and an uncalled-for abusive meddling into a sovereign state's internal affairs.

It has no legal basis because the Iceland Resolution that called for it does not have the slightest shred of actual evidence of summary killings of drug suspects that it alleges. All it has are thousands of supposed deaths that did not happen the way it wants to picture them.

Nobody is denying the number of casualties, but the Philippine government has not been killing people on sight on suspicion of involvement in illegal drugs. All the deaths, except for a few that resulted from clear operational lapses, happened because the victims resisted arrest.

When President Duterte ordered the police to shoot and kill, that was the only part of what he said that the sensation-driven media carried, deliberately ignoring the rest of the sentence that said "if they resist arrest and fight back and your own lives are in danger." The omission is part of the overall strategy of those who cannot take his victory to undermine Duterte.

Then along came the hypocritical Western democracies, who when they have nothing to do, do it elsewhere. Iceland, where, as Duterte correctly pointed out, nothing happens except ice forming, introduced a resolution to investigate. This resolution, which only got 18 in favor as opposed to 14 against and 15 abstentions, will now be the basis to meddle in Philippine affairs.

This notwithstanding that most Filipinos are thankful that many communities and streets have become safer as a result of the drug war, a sense of gratitude reflected in consistent results of survey after survey showing Duterte enjoying unprecedented high approval ratings.

How can the signatories of the Iceland Resolution and the United Nations itself allow such a travesty to happen, that a country carrying out its mandated duties be subjected to an investigation set in motion by only 18 countries based on hearsay and lies as opposed to verifiable evidence, including the fact that democracy is far healthier in the Philippines than even in the US?

But the best argument against rejecting the UN probe is contained in the speech of Philippine foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. himself right after the Iceland Resolution vote. You can Google it up. It is a must-read for all Filipinos who love their country and those who reject hypocrisy. Mr. Locsin's speech in defense of the Philippines makes one proud to be Filipino.