September 23, 2017•Update: September 24, 2017
By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
The Philippine government on Friday rejected several recommendations of the United Nation member-states to investigate alleged extrajudicial killings resulting from President Rodrigo Duterte’s intensive war on drugs.
Manila argues that the country has already addressed the issue in the interactive dialogue and denied the existence of extrajudicial killings.
“The Philippines had sufficiently explained that deaths which occurred in the course of the implementation of the anti-illegal drugs campaign are not EJKs,” the country said in a statement.
“These are deaths arising from legitimate law enforcement operations or deaths that require further investigation following the established rules of engagement by the country’s law enforcers,” it added.
Manila only accepted 103 out of the 257 recommendations made during the 36th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Philippine human rights situation in May, taking note of the remaining 154 proposals.
The statement added that 99 out of the 154 proposals can be supported however the government cannot guarantee implementation.
The last 55 of the recommendations were disagreed upon as their premises and contexts “were sweeping, vague and even contradictory of the country’s democratic processes”.
Aside from those calling for an independent probe of alleged extrajudicial killings, Manila also denied calls against the reinstatement of the death penalty, lowering of the minimum age of criminal liability and the request to allow UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Agnes Callamard to conduct a visit in the country.
Duterte’s bloody drug war has been repeatedly criticized by the UN and other rights groups globally.
Since taking office in June last year, Duterte’s anti-drug campaign has led to the deaths of more than 7,000 people, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Police dispute figures circulated by international rights groups and claim 2,700 were killed during such operations.
The government decries the “deliberate attempt to include all homicides related to the campaign against illegal drugs as extrajudicial killings and to say that they were State-sponsored”.
