United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan will meet with House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and former senator Leila de Lima, according to Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez.
(From left) House Speaker Martin Romualdez, UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan, and former senator Leila de Lima (Photos from Speaker's Office, Agence France-Presse, Senate of the Philippines)
In an interview on “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” on Tuesday, Jan. 16, the PTFOMS official clarified that the meeting with the formerly detained lawmaker should not be controversial because the UN special rapporteur had requested for the meeting when De Lima was still in jail.
“Ngayon naman po ay pinakita po natin na siya po ay malaya na although temporarily ‘no, so tingin po natin ay hindi po magiging isyu ito (Now, we can show that she is free although temporarily, so we think this won’t be an issue),” he said.
The former senator, who had expressed criticism of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's s war on drugs, was detained for almost seven years and was recently released on bail. She has one remaining case.
“And besides, gusto ko pong i-stress, wala pong itinatago ang ating administrasyon pagdating po sa pagtataguyod ng karapatang pantao at pamamahayag sa ating bansa, so tingin po natin ay wala po tayong dapat ikatakot o ipangamba sa pagbisitang ito (I want to stress, this administration isn’t hiding anything when it comes to pursuing human rights and freedom of the press in our country, so there is no reason to fear this visit),” Gutierrez added.
But aside from De Lima, Khan is also set to meet with Remulla, the chairman of PTFOMS, Romualdez, officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and the National Security Cluster.
Gutierrez maintained that they are ready to discuss with Khan about the state of the country’s judicial system and its policies on human rights and freedom of expression and opinion.
He, however, stressed that the visit has nothing to do with the current investigation being conducted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Instead, Gutierrez explained that as a special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Khan will look into the steps the current administration are taking to ensure its commitment to “sensitive issues” such as human rights and freedom of the press.
“And we’re happy to tell her and to inform the world na sa dinami-dami po ng task force na ginawa noong nakaraang administrasyon, mas minabuti po ng ating Pangulong (that out of all the task force created during the past administration President) Bongbong Marcos na i-retain po itong (to retain this) Presidential Task Force on Media Security if only to show his commitment, this administration’s commitment sa (to) press freedom,” he said.
Admittedly, there would be some “weaknesses” in the country’s justice system, but the official emphasized the need to show Khan that there is a “functioning judicial system” and the willingness of the Marcos administration to address the gaps.
Khan will be in the country from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, and is also expected to visit Baguio, Cebu, and Tacloban.
This will be her fourth time in the Philippines; she previously visited once during the Arroyo administration and twice during the Aquino administration.
Gutierrez, who said they were informed about Khan’s visit in October last year, assured that all government agencies and officials are ready to accommodate her and be “a good host.”