Philippines tells UN: No rights violations in drug war

by Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star ), 28 Feb 2020

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine delegation raced against time to turn the tide in favor of President Duterte as the administration presented last night its stand on human rights before the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, High Level Segment in the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar led the Philippine delegation in countering reports that Duterte has committed human rights violations to implement the administration’s war against illegal drugs.

In his presentation before the international media and human rights experts at the United Nations on Tuesday, Andanar pointed out the real state of media freedom in the Philippines.

“The Duterte administration has created a transparent government, an enabling media environment, a safe space for journalists, and yet it remains open to criticisms,” Andanar said in his prepared speech, a copy of which was provided to the Malacañang Press Corps yesterday.

Despite critical narratives faced by the Duterte administration, Andanar said such criticisms will not deter the administration in pursuing the drug war. He decried what he described as disinformation against the present administration.

Andanar also defended the Chief Executive over insinuations that he is suppressing the freedom of the press in the Philippines.

“There are a lot of stories criticizing the government of President Rodrigo Duterte, including issues regarding media freedom. You read it in the headlines, you see it on the TV, in pieces written by observers both at home and abroad, even content from trolls in the digital space,” he said.

“The fact that such articles, reports and accounts exist, indicates that there is free press in the Philippines—no censorship, no persecution,” Andanar said.

“These narratives are something we expect, as our current administration is a game-changing one. But some of these narratives are written out of context, some without basis, and others, outright lies. It is our job to challenge, and to clarify these inaccurate stories, and to simply tell the truth,” he added.

To convince the UN that the administration respects human rights, Andanar discussed the milestones of the Duterte administration in upholding the rights of the media, and their security.

“One of the President’s favorite adages is: ‘I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.’ While the President can and will say what he wants, his actions speak much louder than his words,” he added.

To show how the President respects freedom of the press, Andanar talked about the establishment of the Freedom of Information program that opens all records of public interest up for scrutiny; and the creation of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS).

Andanar also presented the expanded Sotto Law, which now exempts broadcast and online journalists from revealing the sources of confidential information.

He highlighted the government’s triumph over the Maguindanao massacre case that involved the killing of 32 media workers in 2009.

“These should all attest that press freedom is very much alive in the Philippines, and that we have a fully functioning, impartial and independent justice system,” Andanar said.