Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año denounced on Tuesday, April 19, the United States State Department’s 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices claiming the alleged abuses committed by the country’s security forces.
He said the report is a mere repetition of unsubstantiated accusations against Philippine security forces that were loosely picked up from the traditional and social media which paints a grim picture of the country’s peace and order situation that is so far removed from the realities on the ground.
Año said the operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) down to the grassroots level led to the dramatic improvement of the general peace and security situation in the country since 2016.
“Therefore, the report belittles the hard work and sacrifice of the men and women of the PNP and the AFP who have been risking their lives to fulfill their sworn duty to fight criminality and illegal drugs,’’ Año insisted.
"We join the Department of National Defense (DND) in posing a challenge to the US Department of State to substantiate their accusations so that we can properly address them through our internal mechanisms and the courts. Nonetheless, we will continue to do our sworn duty without fear or favor to maintain peace and order in our country,’’ he added.
In a separate statement, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also questioned the US State Department report.
‘We question the State Department’s report of abuses by security forces. But since the state department seems so sure of its facts we challenge it to provide us with details so our Commission on Human Rights, a constitutional and independent body, can verify them, and if proven accurate, the perpetrators will be punished,’’ Lorenzana noted.
Without these data, Lorenzana pointed out that these accusations are nothing but innuendos and witch hunts.
"At worst, the State Department has become a gullible victim of black propaganda. And if I may add, the AFP was voted as one of the most trusted agencies of the government recently. Surely it did not earn this by abusing, torturing, and killing people,’’ he added.
The State Department's 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices claimed that the US received “credible” information on the supposed human rights violations perpetrated by Philippine security forces.
It reported the “numerous” human rights abuses committed by and on behalf of the (Philippine) government and non-state actors.”
The alleged “significant” human rights issues in the country include unlawful or arbitrary killings, reports of forced disappearance, torture, harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, and arbitrary detention. (Chito A. Chavez)