IPU ‘appalled’ by Duterte’s death threat vs Castro

MANILA, Philippines — The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has expressed concern over the death threats issued by former president Rodrigo Duterte against progressive lawmaker Rep. France Castro.

In a declaration unanimously adopted on Oct. 27, the Geneva-based group of parliamentarians said it was “appalled that the former president directly threatened on air the life of a member of Parliament.”

“The matter also has a serious impact on the functioning of the Filipino parliament as a whole. It may deter its members from speaking out on important matters and put their lives at significant risk,” the IPU declared during its 212th session.

The group lamented that Castro “continues to be subjected to attacks, red-tagging and political harassment” on top of the child abuse charges filed against her in late 2018, when she was accused of kidnapping 14 indigenous children from a Lumad school in the town of Talaingod in Davao del Norte.

“We welcome the IPU decision supporting our complaints. We hope that this will help in expediting the dismissal of the trumped-up case in Talaingod. I also hope that justice will prevail and that the threat against my life and other Makabayan solons will stop,” Castro said.