A Malacañang official has rejected the call of dozens of civil society groups for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to investigate the country's human rights situation.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar insisted there was no need for an external investigation since any allegation of rights abuses can be addressed within the local mechanism to ensure accountability.
Around 62 civil society organizations earlier wrote a letter to the UN rights body calling for an establishment of "independent international investigative mechanism" on the alleged drug-related killings and other rights violations in the Philippines since 2016. The groups have expressed "grave concern" about the "human rights crisis" in the Philippines, alleging the failure of Philippine government to stop or investigate such crimes and punish those responsible.
"The Philippines’ human rights situation does not merit any external investigative mechanism being called for on the basis of specific cases where investigations are ongoing," Andanar said in a statement.
Andanar said, "well-established and functioning accountability mechanisms" are already in place in the country. These structures aimed at upholding human rights and rule of law such as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are continuously being strengthened through the steady increase in their budget allocations, he added.
Andanar also said the government remained open to engage parties "to address allegations of human rights violations in the country within the framework of our domestic accountability mechanisms."
He said the government has recently published a report that contained information about the country’s human rights situation as well as its actions and programs. Allegations of human rights violations have also been addressed by the government before the UNHRC and other relevant fora, Andanar noted.
"We believe that these engagements at all levels have been useful in presenting the real human rights situation in the country and the context on the ground," he said.
"We recognize that the advancement of government’s constructive cooperation with the CHR, civil society, and international partners, including the United Nations will be important as we further promote the comprehensive facets of human rights, accountability, and rule of law in the Philippines. We therefore request the civil society and international community to support the Duterte administration’s efforts in this regard," he added.
In the letter to the UNHRC, the civil society groups claimed that the alleged rights abuses in the Philippines have been fueled "by incitement to violence and discrimination by the highest levels of government with near-total impunity."
Among the signatories are Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Free Legal Assistance Group, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, and Reporters Without Borders.