Locsin ready to debate Philippines human rights record with EU

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. is willing to debate the country's human rights record with the European Union after the latter's parliament threatened to withdraw  tariff-exempt privileges on Philippine goods over alleged rights violations.

In a congressional hearing of his department's proposed P21-billion budget for 2021, Locsin said that the European Parliament had devolved into "stupidity" with the resolution adopted by 626 out of 685 members.  

“EU has gone down to the level of deciding for us. They have descended on the level of stupidity,” Locsin said.

“I will not exclude us from the debate on the human rights situation in our country. I can stand on the human credentials of the Philippines. I am not afraid of them. I can face them. I will not excuse them from the debate,” he added.

The European Parliament on September 17 adopted a resolution calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to address widespread and systematic drug-related killings and suppression on press freedom.

The same Resolution also expressed alarm over what it described as a deteriorating press freedom in the Philippines  as seen in the charges filed against journalist and Rappler Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa, Congress’ denial of franchise to operate to broadcasting ABS-CBN, and the continued detention of Duterte  critic Senator Leila de Lima.

The European Parliament also pushed for the revocation of the tariff exemption on a good number of the country's exports.

"Given the seriousness of the human rights violations in the country, calls on the European Commission, in the absence of any substantial improvement and willingness to cooperate on the part of the Philippine authorities, to immediately initiate the procedure which could lead to the temporary withdrawal of GSP+ preferences," the EU parliament resolution read.

A good number of Philippine exports to the EU are getting tariff breaks under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) – a mechanism that gives developing countries the privilege of exporting zero-duty merchandise to EU-member states.

Locsin said the European lawmakers based their actions on the claims made by President Rodrigo Duterte’s foes and critics.

“They will say anything they want. It is a free world. But they will not affect our internal affairs,” Locsin said.

“They are discrediting themselves by picking out  nonsensical issues. I stand with our President who is fighting the worst scourge: the scourge of illegal drugs,” he added.

Last September 10, nongovernment organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) also reported that drug war killing increased by 50% from April to July this year even amid the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the preceding four months.

The HRW cited data from the government arm Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) which states that 5,810 individuals died during anti-illegal drug operations since 2016.

"The number of fatalities in these ostensible drug enforcement raids, in which the police routinely claimed that the victims fought back, jumped dramatically from the 26 deaths recorded by the PDEA in five months from July to November 2019," Carlos Conde, HRW Asia Division researcher, said. -Llanesca Panti/NB, GMA News