Leftist solon slams Cayetano's 'double standard' statement vs. EU lawmakers

A leftist lawmaker on Saturday slammed Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano for calling the European legislators' resolution a form of interference in the country's international affairs.

"Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano maintains a double standard in foreign policy when he describes the action of the European Parliament as constituting interference when right in our own backyard China is aggressively taking our islands with only a muted response from the Department of Foreign Affairs," Akbayan  party-list Representative Tom Villarin said in a statement.

"Cayetano warns the EU of having crossed the red line when written on his face is the nine-dash line of China. Talk about foreign interference," the lawmaker added.

Cayetano on Friday said the European Parliament should respect the country's sovereign prerogative after it called on the Philippine government to immediately end its campaign against illegal drugs.

The European Parliament's resolution also called for the release from detention of Senator Leila de Lima and the removal of United Nations Special Rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz from a government list of individuals with links to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm, the New People’s Army.

"?Cayetano should have not issued that strongly-worded statement and instead reasoned with understanding where the parliament is coming from," Villarin said.

"The EU has human rights as a cornerstobe of its foreign policy," the lawmaker added.?

Villarin said Cayetano's statement only shows the country's top diplomat's lack of diplomatic tack to address the growing global concern on the government’s failed war on drugs that killed at least 12,000 Filipinos.

"Rather than acknowledging the issue of accountability, he questions their motivation," he said. —Ted Cordero/ALG, GMA News