Palace says US State Dept. should ''validate reports'' on alleged human rights abuses
The Palace called the US State Department to ''validate reports'' they received on alleged human rights abuses by the Philippine security forces.
"We strongly suggest that the United States State Department validate reports that reach their office, triangulate the same with all other open and institutional sources, and put to work its political officers in the US embassy in the Philippines who can then properly verify the same with the Philippine government. Engaged verification is key in all this," Secretary Martin Andanar, Acting Presidential Spokesperson, said in a statement released on Saturday.
The US State Department report, which was released on Tuesday, alleged the government and "nonstate actors" of unlawful or arbitrary killings as well as being responsible to the forced disappearances and torture of some people among others.
Andanar said "the United States has once again displayed how infirmed its intelligence gathering is with its recent claim of “credible” reports of human rights violations by the Philippine government in its State Department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices."
"We consider the reports utterly devoid of bases. If at all, the reports are nothing but a rehash of old and recycled issues by the perennial detractors of the Duterte Administration," he said.
"To reiterate, these allegations, including violations committed by law enforcement officers in the conduct of the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, have all been previously addressed," he added.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) issued statements questioning the US State Department report.
PNP said it dismissed 5,599 erring cops and suspended 10,490 engaged in human rights abuses.
DND called on the US State Department to submit details of its report so it could be verified by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Robina Asido/DMS
