Human rights taken up briefly in Duterte-Trump talks —White House

The subject of human rights in the context of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs was "briefly" taken up in his bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump, the White House said on Monday.

"The conversation focused on ISIS, illegal drugs, and trade. Human rights briefly came up in the context of the Philippines’ fight against illegal drugs," Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a White House pool report.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque in his own briefing earlier said that the issue of human rights "did not arise" in the Duterte-Trump talks.

"It was not brought up. It was President Duterte who discussed drug menace in the Philippines," Roque said.

He said Trump, who was in the Philippines for the ASEAN Summit, "appeared sympathetic and did not have any official position on the matter and was merely nodding his head, indicating that he understood the domestic problem that we faced on drugs."

When asked about Sanders' statement in a press conference following the bilateral meeting, Roque maintained that human rights issue was not mentioned.

"There was no mention of human rights. There was no mention of extra-legal killings. There was only a rather lengthy discussion on the Philippine war on drugs with President Duterte doing most of the explaining," he said.

Great relationship

Duterte earlier said that he wouldn't allow Trump or any of the world leaders attending the ASEAN Summit to discuss the Philippines' human rights situation and his campaign against illegal drugs.

Duterte had said he would discuss matters of mutual interest during his bilateral meeting with Trump.

When a reporter asked Trump if he would raise human rights at the meeting, Duterte said: "Whoa, whoa. This is not a press statement. This is the bilateral meeting."

The two leaders met for the first time in Vietnam, where they attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

In his opening statement earlier in the day, Trump noted his "great relationship" with Duterte and praised the Philippines' hosting of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summit.

Trump urged to discuss human rights

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the United States days before asked Trump to raise concerns over the alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines in his meeting with Duterte.

In a letter addressed to Trump dated November 2, US lawmakers Randy Hultgren and James McGovern said, "During your upcoming visit to the Philippines for meetings with regional leaders at the ASEAN Summit in Manila, including Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, we urge you to impress upon President Duterte the United States’ profound concern over reported extra-judicial killings associated with the Philippine government’s 'war on drugs.'"

"We certainly recognize the strategic importance of maintaining our strong partnership with the Philippines, especially amid rising tensions in the region over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and Chinese territorial sovereignty issues involving the South China Sea.  At the same time, we believe the United States must remain a champion of human rights, due process, and the rule of law," Hultgren and McGovern said.

The lawmakers mentioned the significant increase in the number of supposed extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, citing the Country Report on Human Rights for 2016 by the Department of State.

According to Hultgren and McGovern, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights deemed as an "appalling epidemic" the increasing number of slays.

"At a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing earlier this year, we were distressed to learn that police have killed 7,000 alleged drug dealers and users without charges or trial since the Philippine government launched its campaign against illicit drugs," the congressmen added. —with a report from Reuters/NB, GMA News