A PHILIPPINE official in Poland defended the Philippines’ continuous drive against illegal drugs, saying the country’s war on drugs was not a “war against the poor” but a “war for the poor.”
Philippine Ambassador to Poland Patricia Ann Paez, who was guest speaker during the sixth edition of Action Diplomacy” in Warsaw, said the war on drugs was not targeted at any particular segment of society, but to protect the people from illegal drugs.
Majority of the victims of extrajudicial killings were poor but Paez claimed it was not the doing of the police or the military but people involved in illegal drug trade.
Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director Phelim Kine in a statement reacted to Duterte’s statement in a recent speech in Bukidnon that his anti-narcotics drive affected mostly poor people “because the poor are ignorant and more likely to be hit.”
Paez said Duterte had demonstrated firm action to combat the rising drug menace in the country, adding the President was in fact always given a spontaneous rousing welcome by Filipino workers overseas.
Action Diplomacy is a project aimed at “furthering the knowledge of diplomacy, business, and geo-politics among the students in Polish universities.”
This is the 4th time since 2013 that the Philippine Embassy in Warsaw hosted the participants of Action Diplomacy.