Acting Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Martin Andanar urged the US State Department to ‘validate reports’ from all other open and institutional sources, including political officers at the US embassy in the Philippines, that were submitted to its office.
The US has reported that “significant” human rights violations have been committed “by and on behalf of” the Philippine government, an allegation Malacañang has dismissed as “utterly devoid of bases.”
Secretary Martin Andanar said on Saturday that the US demonstrated how “infirm” its intelligence gathering was when the State Department cited alleged violations committed by Filipino law enforcers in its 2021 country report.
“If at all, the reports are nothing more than a rehash of old and recycled issues by the Duterte administration’s perennial detractors,” Andanar said in a statement.
“To reiterate, these allegations, including violations committed by law enforcement officers while carrying out the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, have all previously been addressed,” he added.
The Palace official also requested that the State Department “validate reports” submitted to its office by all other open and institutional sources, including political officers at the US embassy in the Philippines.
“Participated verification is critical in all of this,” Andanar said.
The US State Department raised concerns earlier this week about alleged arbitrary killings, forced disappearances, torture, and harsh and life-threatening prison conditions carried out by and on behalf of the government and non-state actors.
The US report also alleged problems with judicial independence, government corruption, harassment of domestic human rights organizations, invasion of privacy, restrictions on free expression and media, and violence against labor activists.
Some charges in connection with these abuses were frequently “leveled for political reasons,” according to the report.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has institutional flaws, according to the US agency, and its internal affairs service, which investigates cases involving erring cops, is “largely ineffective.”
It cited the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision to exonerate officers from the Manila Police District who were involved in the 2017 discovery of a secret jail hidden behind a wooden bookshelf.
The State Department also mentioned the acquittal of 19 police officers accused of assassinating former Albuera, Leyte Mayor Roland Espinosa inside his cell after President Rodrigo Duterte linked him to the illegal drug trade.
It also claimed that the Philippine government investigated only a “small” number of reported human rights violations, including those committed by its own forces and paramilitary groups. The police have since rejected the State Department’s findings.
The PNP said in a statement that from July 2016 to March 2022, it had dismissed 5,999 “errant” personnel for various offenses as part of its internal cleansing program. As part of the PNP’s commitment to cleanse its ranks, authorities said that 1,129 other officers were demoted, 10,490 were suspended, 848 faced salary forfeiture, 2,475 were reprimanded, and privileges were withheld for 286 more personnel. ###
