Fairness sought in US probe on drug war

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is seeking fairness from a US congressional human rights body that is set to investigate allegations of drug-related extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

In a press briefing yesterday, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the administration’s drug campaign is a “noble effort” that should not be tainted with “insinuations and hasty judgments.”

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan caucus of the US House of Representatives, has announced that it would look into the spate of killings linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

Members of the commission are also expected to “provide policy recommendations for ensuring accountability for human rights violations and for addressing the problems of drug abuse and trafficking in ways consistent with promoting public health and strengthening rule of law.”

Abella said the commission should observe due process in its probe and make sure that all sides are given the chance to be heard.

“We respect the views of the commission and we greatly value the support of the United States that they have given to us and continue to give our country as we address our important economic and social development objectives,” Abella told reporters.

“The universality of human rights presupposes due process be observed by all and, as such, any proceedings that allege wrongdoing should provide the opportunity for all sides to be considered,” he added.

Abella said to his knowledge no Philippine government representative has been invited to the probe.

He said the focus of the commission’s hearing must be “discussed in the context of the scope of the challenge that we face and the actions that we are taking to address it.”

“Insinuations and hasty judgments have no place in due process. Numbers should be verified and information should be crosschecked so that the ensuing conclusions have a solid basis in fact,” the presidential spokesman said.

Abella claimed that experts have recognized the “intrinsic link” between terrorism and crime, specifically the manufacturing and trafficking of illicit drugs.

“The Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs is a noble effort to protect the security and safety of the Filipino people and the future of the nation,” he added.

Abella also expressed confidence the probe would not affect the ties between the Philippines and the US.

“Our relationships are based on other things rather than these temporal matters,” he said.

No US state

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa scoffed at the coming investigation, saying it would be an infringement on Philippine sovereignty.

“Well, are they considering us to be the 51st state of the US? Why are they investigating, don’t we have sovereignty? What’s the reason, are we a province of the US?”

Dela Rosa maintained the Philippine government should be left alone to address its problems, particularly the drug menace.

“They can investigate, but we don’t care. We’re not part of America,” he stressed.

The US government under former president Barack Obama had repeatedly called out Duterte for reports on rampant summary executions of drug suspects. Duterte responded by cursing at Obama and accusing him of interfering in the Philippines’ internal affairs.

Earlier reports said about 9,000 suspected drug offenders have been killed since Duterte became president last year but officials dismissed the figure as “false news.”

Authorities claimed only close to 1,400 of the more than 6,000 deaths under investigation were related to illegal drugs.

The Dangerous Drugs Board said it will come up with a computer-based system to reflect an accurate figure on the number of people affected by illegal drugs.

DDB chairman Dionisio Santiago said they would coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the lead agency in the government’s war on drugs.

“To come out with an accurate count, we will talk with PDEA,” Santiago told GMA’s News To Go.

“It is computer-based so everything will go through DDB so the figure will only come from one source,” he added.

It was Santiago who said that there are around three million drug users in the country.

However, he later clarified that his estimate was not backed by a study and was only his own assessment through his 44 years of experience as a military official and civilian bureaucrat.

Malacañang also disputed a Toronto Sun newspaper report that included Manila among the most dangerous cities in the world.

The report said the streets of Manila “look more like a slaughterhouse than one of the world’s great cities.” With Emmanuel Tupas, Pia Lee-Brago, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Christina Mendez