THE United States expressed concerns Tuesday about the spate of extra-judicial killing related to the Philippine government’s anti-narcotics campaign.
In a press briefing in Washington DC., State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Kennedy-Trudeau said the US was concerned about the detentions and extrajudicial killing of suspected drug users and pushers.
“We…believe in rule of law. We believe in due process. We believe in respect for universal human rights. We believe fundamentally that those aspects ensure and promote long-term security. We are concerned by these detentions, as well as the extrajudicial killing of individuals suspected to be involved in drug activity in the Philippines,” Trudeau said.
“We strongly urge the Philippines to ensure its law enforcement efforts comply with its human rights obligations,” she said.
She said the the US will continue to talk to Philippine authorities on the importance of fundamental democratic principle.
She reminded the Philippines that the US government is funding Manila with some $32 million to fight against drug trafficking.
Trudeau emphasized that the fund should not be used in any activities involving actual extrajudicial killings.
“The $32 million is not new funding…. It’s rather cumulative funding previously appropriated that we’re currently implementing. Assistance provided to these funds, I’d like to emphasize, is subject to the same vetting that our other security assistance is. So all of our security assistance promotes human rights through training content and by promoting professionalism, due process, and rule of law,” she said.
In a separate interview, a senior foreign official warned Duterte that he may face a criminal case before the International Criminal Court over the spate of killings related to the government’s anti-narcotics campaign.
An Association of the Southeast Asian Nation on Human Rights expert who requested anonymity reminded the President that the Philippines is a signatory of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that he may be held liable for the continuous extrajudicial killings which happened since he assumed office.
“Tell your President that he has to remember that the Philippines is one of the signatories of UN Human Rights Convention. He is a lawyer, he should know that,” the expert said.
Duterte swept to power after pledging to end crime using the same “shoot-to-kill” methods critics say he employed as mayor of Davao.
Since Duterte assumed office at the end of June, police have reported killing more than 400 drug suspects. ABS-CBN put the death toll at 852 to include reported summary executions.
On Sunday Duterte publicly named 157 judges, mayors, legislators, police and military individuals allegedly involved in narcotics and warned them to surrender.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday defended Duterte against criticism that there was a double standard in his campaign against illegal drugs, in which most of those killed were poor.
“That is a very unfair statement. Many more have surendered than were killed,” he said in Filipino.
Alvarez reiterated his strong support to President Duterte’s “shoot-to-kill” order in his campaign against illegal drugs, adding he was not shocked that a colleague was among the high-profile personalities included in the Chief Executive’s so-called “kill list.”
But Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat, a stalwart of the Liberal Party in the opposition bloc, lamented the distorted view of justice pervading the country today, noting the apparent double standard of the anti-drug campaign.
“The rich and powerful are given deadlines to negotiate their surrender, are accommodated in the PNP [Philippine National Police] White House, get invited to coffee and are subject to an investigation. But the poor, the lowly drug pusher or the addict simply gets the bullet. It seems like the rules are different with the rich and the poor,” Baguilat said.
A spokesman for the President, Ernesto Abella, sid Duterte was “not happy” with the hundreds being killed in the anti-drug war.
“The fact that the President is admitting that there could be mistakes in the drug suspects killed and were being investigated, I am sure that he is not happy about that,” Abella told reporters in a press briefing.
“The President is concerned and bothered [on the spate of extrajudicial killings.] I think he appreciates the fact that the people are more and more aware of the situation. If there is anything at all that people are aware of [it is] the depth and breadth of clear and present danger of the drug menace,” he added.
