"The Philippines is a member of the community of nations."
"The Philippines is a member of the community of nations."
That United Nations resolution calling for an inquiry into the thousands of deaths from the alleged extra-judicial killings of suspects in the Philippines bloody anti-drug war is raising the hackles of the Duterte administration.
The resolution was introduced by Iceland at the UN Human Rights Council.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters in the Senate predictably defended Mr. Duterte’s brutal and bloody campaign against narcotics. Senator Francis Tolentino, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Imee Marcos, in defending the President, only showed the low quality of the present Senate composition.
Dela Rosa, the former PNP chief and attack dog of Duterte, proved his “utak pulbura” or gunpowder mentality when he made the familiar gesture of his hand going across his throat. Tolentino, the former Metro Manila Development Authority chairman, showed his depth is no more than handling the city’s traffic problem where he also failed. The surprise statement, however, came from Imee Marcos who proposed breaking diplomatic relations with Iceland for introducing the resolution. No comment—her suggestion speaks for itself.
Why has the UN resolution—although not unanimous—become a matter of concern to the UN Human Rights Council? For one, the PNP itself came out publicly of an estimated 6,000 plus dead in the drug war. Non-government sources say the number is way higher.
Then there is the frequent statement of President Duterte to police operatives to kill all those involved in drug trafficking. That in itself makes it policy, giving them license to kill even if in certain instances the suspects can be merely subdued by the superior police force. And if the suspects were armed and if they threatened the lives of law enforcers , then the shoot-to-kill order is justified.
Why should we allow a UN human rights group into the country? Duterte defenders raised the Philippine flag, claiming this is a transgression into the Philippine sovereignty and our domestic affairs. But the Philippines is a member of the UN and the community of nations. The government signed the UN convention on the protection of human rights. How then can we say that the Philippines will not abide by the human rights council resolution when we accuse China of ignoring The Hague arbitration tribunal ruling, rejecting Beijing’s claim on the entire South China Sea. China as a UN member signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and yet it did not abide by the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which is a UN arm for settling territorial disputes.
We cannot be like the Chinese who are selective on which UN laws to follow. Rules are rules They must be followed by everybody. Critics claim that if the government does not have anything to hide, then by all means let the UN rapporteur and her team come to the country. If the UN inquiry team does not get the government side of the controversial EJKs, then let our representatives at the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York speak up on the one-sided UN report. For sure, our UN Mission reps will be heard. That is what the UN is for—a venue for open and free speech.
Let us show the world that the Philippines, despite so many barriers to democratic governance, is a country of civil liberties. We have officials like former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. Morales and Del Rosario were recently barred from entering Hong Kong because they filed a case against Chinese President Xi Jinping for gross violation of human rights. But then I am sure that President Duterte, a close friend of the Chinese president, will not give the case his endorsement.
People are wondering whether Durerte will mention in his State of the Nation Address the ramming of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese gunboat in Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea.
Your guess is as good mine. Next week’s SONA will be mostly a spiel of his accomplishments and nothing of the challenges and threats to Philippine security and sovereignty.