Malacanang responded to the statement of the United Nations Special Rapporteur Michel Forst on Tuesday, December 18, claiming that the report is “reckless and irresponsible” for urging the government to stop the stigma against human rights defenders.
According to The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the report the Special Rapporteur released compromised the reputation of the entire UN system.
“The recent call of United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) Michel Forst not only is reckless but irresponsible as well for it not only demeans the integrity of the UNSR system but the entire UN mechanism itself,” Panelo said.
“We are fed up with this practice of using the UN as a platform to parrot baseless criticisms of local interest groups who are supported by resentful politicians belonging to the opposition,” he added.
The spokesperson claimed that the facts presented by Forst were in dire need of verification as he continued that human rights defenders in the Philippines have a convenient and safe platform to address their sentiments.
“If Mr. Forst only checked his facts first, he would have known that organizations presenting themselves as so-called human rights defenders never had it so good under the Duterte administration,” he said.
“They continue to fully exercise all their rights to air issues and concerns related to their advocacies in an environment that is free and secure from any threat or harassment,” he added.
Panelo, also President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief legal counsel, urged those who have complaints to file a case against the administration.
“Local groups that have been feeding Mr. Forest with false information to submit their alleged cases of violations against their members to proper authorities such as the Inter-Agency Committee under Administrative Order 35 (s.2012),” Panelo explained.
“(Inter-agency committee) is in charge with handling cases of extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances and other grave violations of the right to life and liberty,” he added.
“Unless they can properly do so, we stand by our firm admonition of these groups to refrain from making a fool of these UNSRs, a mockery of the UN, as well as using their allegations as leverage to secure financial resources from over-trusting funding institutions,” he said.
Panelo said that the likes of Forst “should be less gullible as this reinforces the President’s contempt for them who have consistently manifested bias against the Philippines.” According to the spokesperson, the UN has “been used by these detractors as a tool for vilification.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also reacted to Forst’s report noting that the administration is adamant in ensuring that due process is followed and the Constitution is held in highest regard.
“As we are currently seeking clarification on the nature of report of the Special Rapporteur to enable us to respond more properly, we would like to reiterate the full commitment of the Philippine Government to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that human rights violations are properly investigated, including those allegedly committed by state actors, to make the perpetrators accountable,” the DFA statement read.
Forst’s report encouraged the government to “cease immediately the public stigmatization of human rights defenders, which can incite perpetrators to act against them, and instead to publicly recognize the legitimacy and importance of their work.”
He further noted that the country should continue to take a second look at its laws that could possibly restrict freedom of opinion, expression, assembly and association.
“The government should review and desist from employing counter-insurgency measures which result in extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, and human rights violations,” the rapporteur said.
“In doing so, the government should recognize the specific needs and circumstances of groups of defenders facing high risks, such as women human rights defenders, indigenous human rights defenders, land and environmental rights defenders, and journalists,” the report added.
