Palace asks EU Parliament to exercise prudence in issuing resolution vs Philippine war on drugs

April 20, 2018

Malacanang said on Friday the European Parliament should exercise prudence after it issued a resolution calling for a stop in the spate of alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said it was unfortunate that the European Parliament came out with such resolution, which was an interference of the affairs of the Philippines.

He branded the EU Parliament's resolution rehashed and baseless.

"We reiterate that the Philippine administration—the government under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte does not engage in so-called extra-judicial killings," he said.

"Impunity doesn’t have a place in our society and we continue to follow due process and hold officers accountable for their actions," Roque stressed.

He also wondered where EU Parliament got its figures that 12,000 people have been killed due to Duterte's war on drugs.

"We, of course, challenge them, where is your data? Where is the evidence that 12,000 have been killed?," he said, noting that cases have been filed against erring policemen.

On the EU Parliament's call to release detained Senator Leila de Lima, Roque said the government followed strict legal procedures on her arrest and detention.

He said even the Supreme Court has junked De Lima's motion questioning the legality of the information filed against her.

De Lima is facing a case for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison when she was secretary of the Department of Justice. She, however, denied the allegation, saying she is a victim of political persecution for being Duterte's staunch critic.

Roque also justified why United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is included in the list of terrorists.

This was because of intelligence information linking her to the communist rebels, he said.

The EU Parliament has expressed regrets that the Philippines considered Corpuz a terrorist.

"We thus call on the members of the European Parliament to exercise prudence in issuing resolutions. We understand a number of whom we have close ties with the local political opposition who tried to distort realities that we have a working democracy, where people now enjoy peace and order. We have existing mechanisms for constructive discussions including the Philippine European partnership in cooperation agreement which entered into force in March 2018," Roque said.

He found it inconsistent the EU Parliament issued the resolution amid EU's financial assistance on the Philippine government's campaign against illegal drugs.

"I find it inconsistent that the European parliament will condemn the war against drugs which is now also being financed partly by the European Union," he said.

As to the call of the European Parliament to remove the Philippines from the UN Human Rights Council, he said, " The members of the UN Human Rights Council are elected by the general assembly, that’s a call to be made by the General Assembly." Celerina Monte/DMS