‘Abusive’ WHO official asked to be declared persona non grata

Former Deputy Speaker Deogracias “DV” Savellano of Ilocos Sur has sought to ban Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director in the Western Pacific, in the Philippines. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A top Manila-based official of the World Health Organization (WHO) should be banned in the Philippines for his racist comments “belittling and ridiculing Filipinos.”

Former Deputy Speaker Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano, who represented the First District of Ilocos Sur in the 18th Congress, asked the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to declare Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director in the Western Pacific, “persona non grata” after he was fired from his Manila post for charges of racism and abusive behavior.

“The Philippine government should always uphold and protect the dignity of its people. Why should we be home to an official who has abused our hospitality and insulted our people? We call on the Bureau on Immigrations to ban Dr. Takeshi Kasai from the Philippines and declare him persona non grata or an unwelcome person,” Savellano said in a statement.

Dr. Kasai was fired from his post after several staffers accused him of fostering a toxic atmosphere and a “culture of systemic bullying,” particularly against Filipinos and other Asia-Pacific nations.

“Kasai’s malicious comments belittling and ridiculing Filipinos and those of other races whom he considered to be inferior are a further disgrace to the WHO, whose credibility has been waning ever since they fumbled the pandemic response. He is a pathetic embodiment of an agency that claims to be for the good of all, but in reality is only for the good of a few,” Savellano said.

Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocacy group Quit for Good, recently warned that the WHO’s “lack of transparency and ineptitude” and “horrible racism within its ranks” could play out once the WHO convenes the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) parties at the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP) in November.

The FCTC is the global tobacco control treaty under the auspices of the WHO and governed by the COP, which is composed of representatives from all signatory-countries, including the Philippines.

“We don’t want a bunch of racist bureaucrats discriminating against marginalized Filipino farmers and poor Filipino smokers who will be deprived of better alternatives,” Dr. Mata said.

Dr. Mata, one of the leading voices on THR in the Philippines, noted the WHO’s inconsistent stance on smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes like heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

“The WHO found itself in the same situation two years ago when their credibility took a hit in the Philippines. They previously stated that e-cigarettes are equally as harmful as cigarettes, but they backtracked during a Congressional hearing when they admitted that e-cigarettes are less harmful,” Dr. Mata added.

Dr. Kasai’s dismissal follows a damning Associated Press investigation that revealed documents and recordings of Kasai hurling derogatory remarks about staff based on their nationalities and blaming the COVID-19 surge in some countries on their “lack of capacity due to inferior culture, race and socio-economic level.”

WHO staffers interviewed by AP said Kasai repeatedly told them in meetings that the insufficient COVID response was due to “a lack of sufficiently educated people in the Pacific.”

Kasai’s toxic leadership cultivated a fear of retaliation among staff, ultimately resulting in the resignation of 55 key officers. Staffers have said this led to a lack of cooperation among member countries that may have led to a surge of COVID-19 within the region.

In addition, Kasai was accused of disrespecting WHO’s own pandemic guidelines by forcing employees to return to the office during Manila’s lockdown period and even providing confidential data to the Japanese government.

Despite multiple sexual abuse and misconduct allegations hounding WHO over the years, Kasai’s dismissal is the first time the agency has dismissed a top-ranked regional official.

Enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Convention for Diplomatic Relations, a persona non grata declaration refers to a foreign person whose entering or remaining in a certain country is prohibited by that country.

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