NextGen Day

MANILA – Malacanang denounced a study by London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) on the alleged commission of unlawful executions and human rights violations in the Philippines as “false” and “rehashed” on Tuesday.

Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar expressed his disappointment that AI continues to rely on the critics’ unfounded charges against President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his administration in a press statement.

“We see Amnesty International’s (AI) Report 2021-2022 as a cut-and-paste collection of recycled issues and arguments used by the Duterte Administration’s recurrent detractors and critics,” Andanar added.

This comes after the AI claimed in its 2020-2021 report that extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations are still occurring in the Philippines under the pretext of Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign.

The alleged lack of accountability “continued to promote unlawful executions and other human rights violations under the government’s ‘war on drugs campaign,” according to the AI study.

“Human rights defenders, political activists, and politicians have been subjected to unlawful killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, and harassment,” according to the AI, citing the cases of journalist Maria Ressa and “prisoner of conscience” Leila de Lima, both of whom were allegedly “targeted” by the Duterte administration.

Duterte “continued to promote violence against persons suspected of using or selling illegal narcotics,” according to the AI, who also noted that in July 2021, the President called on Congress to “legislate for free legal help for personnel of the security forces accused of unlawful deaths.”

It was referring to Duterte’s statement during his last State-of-the-Nation Address on July 26, 2021, in which he requested that lawmakers pass a bill that would provide free legal assistance to both military and police personnel facing charges stemming from incidents related to their official duties.

Andanar bemoaned the fact that AI has yet again failed to verify its most recent report.

“Unfortunately, AI’s findings are never verified by the Philippine government, even if merely to verify their data.” Due to the lack of such verification, AI’s claim is merely a misleading rehash. And it includes misleading narratives about the present administration’s anti-illegal narcotics effort, as well as issues involving Maria Ressa and Senator Leila de Lima, all of which have been addressed previously,” he stated.

Andanar also responded to the AI report on the Duterte administration’s alleged “mishandling” of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, claiming that the assertion is “far from the reality” because “all regions in the Philippines are currently at minimal risk case classification.”

Andanar also spoke to the AI about the Philippines’ election to the United Nations Human Rights Council for a fifth term, calling it a “recognition by this global body of the Philippine government’s faithful dedication to promoting, preserving, and fulfilling the human rights of the Filipino people.”

He encouraged the AI to meet with the Secretariat of the Presidential Human Rights Committee to ensure that the country’s critical challenges are “fully discussed and resolved.”

“In keeping with our commitment to remain open to multi-stakeholder discussions,” Andanar added, “we ask AI to sit down with the government to clarify whatever concerns them, valid or not.”

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