Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO
Malacañang blasted on Friday the three United Nations special rapporteurs who had urged the government to conduct impartial investigations into the high number of killings linked to the bloody drug war, saying that the administration “will never condone” such slays.
“We reiterate that the current administration does not, and will never, condone extrajudicial and vigilante killings and does not tolerate human-rights violations,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
“We therefore decry the Special Rapporteurs who signed the joint statement for making negative assumptions about the country despite our explanations to the contrary,” he added.
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“Even as we continue to respect the UN Special Procedures mechanism, we will not allow these biased individuals parading themselves as human rights experts to abuse such a mechanism to bully States by concocting falsehoods.”
Roque said that the government’s efforts to hold erring policemen accountable were shown following the relief of the entire Caloocan City police force after drawing wide criticism for the consecutive killings of teens.
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“This is a proof that we investigate and punish erring policemen and hence, discharged our state obligation to protect and promote human rights,” Roque said.
“We believe that accountability is an indispensable part of good governance and the President himself made a clear stance that legitimate operations follow protocols,” he added.
The three U.N. special rapporteurs —Agnes Callamard as special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Michel Forst as special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Diego García-Sayán as special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers—issued a joint statement on Thursday seeking prompt, impartial investigations into the high number of killings in the context of the government’s anti-drugs campaign. /jpv