Senator Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla on Tuesday July 19 branded as ‘’baseless’’ a United States House of Representatives measure blocking aid to the Philippine National Police (PNP) because of supposed human rights violations.
Padilla said he has personally witnessed how the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have upheld human rights.
“Witness ako nito sa pagiging makatao ng AFP at ng PNP (I have witnessed how the AFP and PNP respect human rights)... Hindi po ako nagsisinungaling sa inyo, mga mahal kong kababayan (I will not lie, my beloved fellow countrymen). Kung meron akong nakikitang mali na ginagawa ng PNP o AFP o anumang sangay sa gobyerno na may kinalaman sa human rights, ako po ang unang unang magsasalita at magsasabi sa inyo (If I see human rights violations by the PNP or AFP or any branch of government, I will call them out),” Padilla said in a TV interview.
“Pero sa tagal ko po, ako nagtrabaho mahigit isang taon sa AFP (I have worked for more than a year in the AFP). Kitang kita ko ang paggalang ng nakauniporme sa civilian (I have seen for myself how our men and women in uniform respect human rights),” he added.
“Hindi ko naintindihan kung saan nanggaling ito kung saan humuhugot ang opposition sa banat banat na puro human rights violations (I don’t understand where the opposition go their oft-repeated allegations of human rights violations),” he pointed out.
Earlier, Representative Susan Wild (Pennsylvania) introduced an amendment to the US National Defense Authorization Act for 2023 where aid to the PNP will be blocked until it complies with “human rights requirements.”
But Padilla noted the US had expressed support for the Philippines anew during the US Embassy's celebration of Independence Day which he attended.
Padilla also called out those behind such politicking, noting the incident is very sad.
“Ang hinihiling lang namin sa inyo, hindi ito ang oras na maging masyado tayong mapulitika. Wala nang sinisigaw ang ating bagong Pangulo kundi unity tayo, magkaisa na tayo. Ito dinadamay na naman ninyo ang US, dinadamay na naman ninyo ang Europe. Pambihira (My appeal to you is that now is not the time for politicking. Our new president has called for unity, let us unite. And do not drag the United States and Europe into your politicking),” he said.
“Di ba ang sabi nila ang voice of the people is the voice of God. Di ba nakikita natin overwhelming ang suporta ng tao sa dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte at sa bagong Pangulong si Bongbong Marcos? Ano pa ba ang kailangan pakinggan ng international community (Isn't it that the voice of the people is the voice of God? Haven't we seen the overwhelming support for former President Duterte and new President Marcos? What else is the international community supposed to hear)?” he added.
“Ang ating mundo ngayon talagang kung di tayo magkakaisa malulugi po tayong mga Pilipino. Ito ang oras na tayo kahit magkakaiba tayo ng ating mga adikain pero pagdating sa kapakanan ng bayang Pilipinas at kapwa nating Pilipino parang awa nyo na po, magkaisa na po tayo (If we don't unite now, we will end up the losers. This is the time to unite despite differences in our beliefs, for the sake of our country and our people),” he pointed out.