US: No conflict in rights report, Trump-Duterte ties

MANILA, Philippines — The latest annual US Country Report on Human Rights and President Donald Trump’s engagement with leaders who have been questioned for their human rights record, including President Duterte, are “complementary” and not two things in “conflict.”

“Does that mean that (Trump) should never speak to these people? We’re trying to keep the report as the factual baseline for what we’re going to do in policy terms or sanctions as the (Secretary of State) was mentioning. So we can learn a lot from this, and we can use it to formulate a policy,” said Ambassador Michael Kozak of the US State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

“But usually part of your policy is engaging with the people whose behavior you’re trying to change at some level. I don’t think those two things are in distinction,” added Kozak. 

He said the report is an assessment of human rights situations in countries, including the Philippines and China, and the responsibility of the government for the abuses that occur. 

“We’re not just saying there are these societal problems in the country; we’re saying the government either has done these bad deeds or not,” he claimed.

In its report on the Philippines, the State Department noted that extrajudicial killings (EJKs) “have been the chief human rights concern in the country after a sharp rise with the onset of the anti-illegal drugs campaign in 2016, that continued in 2017.”

For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said last Saturday that the government’s vigorous campaign against crime, most especially against the illegal drug trade, seeks to promote the welfare and protect the human rights of all Filipinos – to save lives, preserve families, protect communities and stop the country from sliding into a narco-state.

The Duterte administration therefore should squarely address serious concerns by the international community on the drug-related EJKs in the country by soberly presenting facts instead of lashing out, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.

Lacson, who chairs the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, stressed that diplomacy and dialogue will go a long way in setting the record straight on the administration’s controversial and bloody campaign against illegal drugs, which reportedly has claimed the lives of over 10,000 people since 2016.

He said Malacañang should exert efforts to inform the European Union parliament and the US State Department – both of which have repeatedly expressed grave concern over EJKs – of the administration’s side, particularly the casualties security forces have sustained.

“The best antidote to such criticisms is to throw back facts. Instead of saying ‘we don’t care,’ let productive people in the intelligence community analyze (the EU and US reports) and correct them through communications,” Lacson told dzBB.

“Our communication – not only in the country but also outside – should be improved and that can’t be done by cursing or criticizing. When you criticize, were you able to correct any misimpression?” he said.

He appealed to the media to also report the strides of the government against illegal drugs as well as the numerous casualties sustained by the police in the campaign.

Lacson said the international community is greatly influenced by what the local media reports in forming their stand on the administration’s war on illegal drugs.

The senator added that Malacañang should also concede some of the criticisms on EJKs have basis even as he stressed there remains a need to review anti-drug operations.

He said the police officers handling drug cases should not be lazy or frustrated if the suspects they prosecute are set free either by corruption or poor evidence gathering.

“Nothing beats hard work, good intelligence and patience,” Lacson said. – With Paolo Romero