CHR to Duterte: You need human rights allies in war on drugs

President Rodrigo Duterte. From a video by RTVM

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has urged President Rodrigo Duterte to consider it and human rights advocates allies in the war on drugs.

“Kung tutuusin kailangan ni President Duterte ng katulong, ng kakampi. Bakit nya aawayin ang mga taga-human rights?” CHR Commissioner Gwen Pimentel-Gana said over INQ&A on Tuesday.

(If you think about it, President Duterte needs help, allies. Why would he pick a fight with the human rights community?)

She said human rights activists also want to achieve what the President is aiming for — a bright future for our children.

“Hindi naman namin sya kinakalaban (o sinasabihan na), ‘Uy mali ang ginagawa mo,’” Pimentel-Gana said.

(We are not opposing him or telling him that what he is doing is wrong.)

However, the commissioner said Duterte needed to be clear with his words.

“Sana very clear (sabihin nya), ‘I will not tolerate the killings,’” she said.

(I hope he makes it clear by saying, “I will not tolerate the killings.)

“As long as the police follow their protocol there will be no human rights violations. Because their protocol has the human rights approach ingrained in it,” Pimentel-Gana said.

Duterte earlier threatened to kill human rights activists who oppose his tough stance on the war on drugs.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said they “take exception” to the President’s threat and have relayed their message through public means and other channels.

“It boils down to what framework is necessary to really stamp out the problem of drugs. By upholding human rights, you don’t have to kill people to solve this problem.

She said some countries have found better ways of addressing the drug problem.

“All of them are saying that merely using law enforcement methods will not solve the problem even if the methods are clean,” she said, adding that the government will have to solve the problem of poverty.