Foreign affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.
“Maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations,” President Rodrigo Duterte said.
A statement of disappointment.
This was how the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) described President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement against the United Nations (U.N.) after two U.N. special rapporteurs criticized the administration’s anti-illegal drugs war and blamed the law enforcers as the ones behind the cases of extra judicial killings.
However, the foreign affairs department stressed that the Philippines is not bolting out of the United Nations.
“We are committed to the U.N. despite our numerous frustration and disappointment with this international agency but we are certainly not leaving the U.N,” DFA Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. clarified.
The secretary says the President is responsible for the statements he makes and the department also gives him advice on matters concerning the international community.
Meanwhile, Sec. Yasay calls the rapporteurs’ statements as irresponsible because they were basing there pronouncements on media reports.
“Media reports may serve as their leads but such reports do not constitute prima facie evidence of fact. It is highly irresponsible on their part to solely rely on such allegations based on information from unnamed sources without proper substantiation,” said Yasay.
Yasay further stated that the president has been clear on his mandate that the anti-drugs campaign must adhere to human rights principles.
Also, the cases of extra judicial killings are now being investigated by the police.
Malacañang, on the other hand, said the president was just emphasizing the sovereignity of the Philippines as a nation.
“You get the core of the statement and this is a matter of explaining his basic core statements. As a sovereign nation, we need not to be meddled with,” Presidential spokesman Sec. Ernesto Abella told reporters. — Victor Cosare / UNTV News & Rescue
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