Palace summons US envoy over intel report vs Duterte

February 23, 2018

Malacanang summoned United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim after President Rodrigo Duterte was tagged in the US Intelligence Report as among Southeast Asian leaders who are "threats to democracy."

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea called in his office Kim on February 22, "where they discussed the latest US Intelligence Community’s Worldwide Threat Assessment report," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday in a statement.

He said Medialdea also ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C., to coordinate and engage with the US agencies involved in the writing of the assessment.

"ES Medialdea further directed our embassy officials and staff  in the US to provide the latter accurate information on the realities happening on the ground in the Philippines, including the actions taken by the President and his administration to promote socioeconomic development for the country and provide a safe and secure environment for all Filipinos, respecting at all times the rule of law," Roque said.

US Intelligence, in its World Threat Assessment recently published, cited Duterte as one of the Southeast Asian leaders who posed a threat to democracy and human rights.

The group is composed of 17 government agencies that collaborate regularly to produce some key intelligence products that inform policy-makers and the US president, using both classified and open source information.

The report noted Duterte would "continue to wage his signature campaign against drugs, corruption, and crime. Duterte has suggested he could suspend the Constitution, declare a ‘revolutionary government,’ and impose nationwide martial law."

It also cited a Freedom House report listing the Philippines as one of the governments using "propaganda and misinformation in social media to influence foreign and domestic audiences." Celerina Monte/DMS