Philippines won’t leave UNHRC or cut ties with Iceland: Locsin

July 16, 2019

The Philippines will not leave the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) or cut diplomatic ties with Iceland, which filed a resolution seeking the council to review the human rights situation in the country, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Tuesday.

"(The) UNHRC vote is a small and harmless matter; we're staying in UNHRC as a pedagogical duty to teach Europeans moral manners. We're NOT severing diplomatic relations with any country," Locsin said on Twitter.

"If we did, where's the conversation? How do you insult those who insulted us if you cut them off?" he added.

When sought for comment to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador's Panelo statement, Locsin said he did not consider ending diplomatic ties with Iceland.

"I also notice that some senators did not read my response to the Iceland vote: that while I thought about withdrawing... I decided to stay so as to teach it how to think morally and forthrightly without hypocrisy. This is a duty PH will not shirk. Also to bathe daily," Locsin said in a separate tweet on Monday.

"Cutting ties with Iceland? I know (Senator) Imee (Marcos) suggested it but we don't even have embassies in each other's country. Seems like a vacuous gesture," he added. DMS