DFA urges due process in US Congress inquiry on drug war
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, under the US Congress, has invited witnesses to analyze the implementation of the Duterte administration's anti-drug campaign.
"We were not invited," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told Philstar.com in a chance interview at the sidelines of the ANC Leadership Forum in Pasay City.
READ: US Congress to hold hearing on Philippines' drug war
Cayetano, however, said that the government expects due process from the people who will investigate the human rights situation in the country.
The Philippines' top diplomat added that it is for the US Congress to determine how to use American funds for the Philippines.
"We are a member of the UN, so we present to the United Nations Human Rights Council... We don’t report to the US," Cayetano said.
Cayetano, while still a senator, helped the Philippines present its case at the Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council in May. He said then that the numbers of supposed extrajudicial killings had been bloated because even homicides not related to drugs were included in the supposed body count. He said this was done to embarrass the Duterte administration.
The government has repeatedly said that the state does not condone extrajudicial killings, or summary executions, but President Rodrigo Duterte frequently talks about killing criminals. He has also said that he will pardon security personnel who go to jail for following orders.
Superintendent Marvin Marcos and 18 other police officers charged with the homicide of a Leyte town mayor suspected of involvement in the drug trade have already been reinstated to active duty. Albuera town mayor Rolando Espinosa was killed in government custody last November alongside Raul Yap, a fellow detainee.
Philippines a 'champion of human rights'
In a separate statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs defended the Duterte administration's so-called war on drugs.
"The Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs is a noble effort to protect the security and safety of Filipino people and the future of the nation," the DFA said in a statement sent to Philstar.com.
The DFA stressed that the Philippines has long been recognized as a "champion of human rights" and that the government has always been committed to upholding the rights of Filipinos.
"The universality of human rights presupposes due process be observed by all, and as such any proceedings that allege wrongdoing should provide the opportunity for all sides to be considered," the DFA said.
Duterte has more than once said that he does not "give a shit" about human rights and has disparaged human rights advocacy groups as well as a UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings.
"Insinuations and hasty judgments have no place in due process. Numbers should be verified and information should be cross-checked so that the ensuing conclusions have a solid basis in fact," the DFA said.
Incidentally, the alleged lack of due process in drug-related deaths is among the criticisms raised against the war on drugs.
The witnesses for the upcoming US Congress hearing on July 20 are iDEFEND Philippines spokesperson Ellecer Carlos, Amnesty International Senior Crisis Advisor Matthew Wells and Human Rights Watch Asia Division Deputy Director Phelim Kine.
The US congressional commission will conduct the inquiry to determine whether Washington should balance its concerns for protecting human rights and the rule of law while maintaining its bilateral alliance with the country.
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