De Lima slams Palace 'doublespeak' on UN probe into human rights situation

Senator Leila De Lima on Thursday slammed Malacañang for saying that the United Nations (UN) cannot do anything if the Philippine government would not allow special rapporteurs to investigate the human rights situation in the country.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said it is the Philippine government's prerogative to disallow such a probe even if President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier told the UN General Assembly that his administration advocates for an "open dialogue and constructive engagement" with the UN on the issue of human rights.

"That is Palace doublespeak. They say one thing and then another completely different thing. Either they are hopelessly incoherent or are engaging in strategic obfuscation," De Lima said in a statement.

The opposition senator who has consistently criticized the administration's war on drugs reiterated that Duterte's pronouncements before the UN cannot be taken at face value.

"That speech has several levels of deception. The bottom line is how can anyone ever rely on the word of proven liars? Kung plastic si Duterte sa UN speech niya, si Roque naman ay nuknukan ng kasinungalingan simula pa noong umupo siya sa pwesto," De Lima said.

In a pre-recorded speech aired during the said virtual gathering of world leaders earlier this week,  Duterte alleged that some interest groups have "weaponized human rights."

Nonetheless, he said his administration will be open to engage with the UN as long as these are done "in full respect of the principles of objectivity, noninterference, non-selectivity and genuine dialogue."

"These are the fundamental bases for productive international cooperation on human rights," Duterte said.

The Duterte administration's "bloody" campaign against illegal drugs drew the attention and criticism of local and international rights groups in the past four years.

Over 5,000 drug suspects in the country got killed, based on official data from the government.

In July 2019, the UN Human Rights Council voted to set up an investigation into thousands of killings in the Philippines' war on drugs but the Philippines rejected the move.

Last June, UN experts renewed their call for an on-the-ground independent, impartial investigation into human rights violations in the country.

The most recent international move condemning the alleged human rights violations in the country was the filing of the bill in the US Congress which seeks to suspend police and military assistance of the US to the Philippines. -MDM, GMA News