Duterte to study whether to allow UN probers in PH

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he will study the possibility of allowing United Nations (UN) investigators to enter the Philippines to probe the drug war killings.

“Let them state their purpose, and I will review,” Duterte told reporters in Malacañang.

Duterte issued the statement hours before the UN Human Rights Council voted to act on the resolution to investigate the supposed human rights violations in the drug war.

READ: Greater scrutiny on PH killings gets UN rights council’s nod

The President also claimed that the UN investigation was just an added “intrigue.”

“Dagdag lang sila sa intriga,” he said.

During its 41st session in Geneva, 18 of the 47 member states that make up the human rights body voted in favor of the draft resolution filed by Iceland on behalf of more than two dozen nations which formally asked United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to prepare and present a “comprehensive written report” on the human rights situation in the Philippines.

International human rights group Amnesty International (AI) backed the resolution and released a report to show how Duterte’s anti-drug campaign “continues to destroy lives and devastate communities – and how extrajudicial executions by police remain rampant and may constitute crimes against humanity.”/ee

READ: As killings go on, Amnesty International demands urgent probe of Duterte drug war

READ: 28 states urge UN to report on human rights situation in PH