In UN speech, Duterte tells Senate to ratify nuclear weapons ban treaty

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday urged the Senate to ratify the international agreement that seeks to prohibit nuclear weapons. 

“I have asked the Philippine Senate to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Importantly, we were among those to sign it first,” Duterte said in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly. 

The Philippines signed the treaty in September 2017. Under the 1987 Constitution, a treaty or international agreement will only be valid and effective upon the concurrence of at least two thirds of all members of the Senate. 

According to Duterte, the use of nuclear weapons puts everyone at risk, “especially if they fall in the hands of terrorists without a shred of humanity in their souls.” 

“There is no excuse for deaths that a nuclear war could cause nor the reckless use of chemical and biological weapons that can cause mass destruction,” he said. 

The President then called on UN member states to “fully implement” the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Chemical and the Biological Weapons Conventions.

“The global health crisis has further complicated the global security environment. But no aspiration nor ambition can justify the use of weapons that destroy indiscriminately and completely,” he said.

It was the first time for Duterte to speak before the 193-member global body since he took office in 2016. —KG, GMA News