Despite the supposed negative reports reaching international organizations, a Malacañang official said that the Philippine government is open to discussing the country’s human rights situation and that it is credible enough to address violations.

Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) executive director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez said this as the 10-day visit of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan concludes.

In an interview on Thursday, Feb. 1, Gutierrez said Khan’s visit proves that the Philippine government is transparent about the country’s human rights situation and is willing to talk to anyone about it.

“Napakita po natin muli ang ating transparency, ang ating openness, ang ating pong kahandaan na makipag-dayalogo sa kahit sino (We were able to show again our transparency, our openness, and our preparedness to have a dialogue with anyone),” he said.

“[Naipakita] po ang tunay na record ng estado ng karapatang pantao at pamamahayag sa ating bansa (We were able to show the true record and status of human rights and journalism in the country),” he added.

According to Gutierrez, Khan’s visit will make the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) realize that the situation in the Philippines contradicts the reports they have been receiving.

“Nagulat lang po sya na 50… more than half of the killings na nangyari po sa hanay ng media since 1987— hindi pa po nila alam ito dyan sa United Nations, ay naresolba na po pala ng atinng gobyerno (She was surprised that 50… more than half of the media killings since 1987 — they did not know this in the UN, but those cases were already resolved),” he said.

“I think we have presented to Ms. Irene Khan the commitment, openness, and transparency of the Marcos administration in addressing all these issues related [to] freedom of opinion and expression, in particular, and of course in relation [to human rights],” he added.

With this, Gutierrez said that the Philippine government is capable of resolving its domestic affairs, particularly cases involving human rights violations.

“Matibay po ang kredibilidad ng ating gobyerno sa pagtugon po sa mga problemang ito sapagkat kumpleto naman ang ating mga proseso (Our government is credible when it comes to addressing these problems because our processes are complete),” he said.

“Ang ating mga sistema ng hustisya dito sa ating bansa ay matibay po at malakas at appreciated nga po ni Ms. Khan (Our justice system is strong and Ms. Khan appreciates it),” he added.

Khan arrived in the Philippines on Jan. 23 and is scheduled to depart on Feb. 2. She met with civil society, human rights, and media organizations. She also met with experts, academics, and other stakeholders to get information about the status of media freedom, internet freedom, and freedom of expression in the country.