Thumbs up to ‘excellent’ drugs war: poll
Rating gives boost to Duterte govt
MANILA, Sept 23, (Agencies): Philippine citizens are overwhelmingly satisfied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, a survey showed, giving a boost to a government outraged by an international push to investigate allegations of systematic murders by police.
The quarterly poll of 1,200 Filipinos by Social Weather Stations returned a rating of “excellent” for Duterte’s threeyear campaign, with 82% satisfied due to a perception of less drugs and crime in the country.
That compared to 12% dissatisfied, because they believed the drug trade was still flourishing and there were too many killings and police abuses. The survey conducted by the independent pollster in late June had 6% undecided.
It was released two days after the leak of a presidential memo ordering departments and state-run firms to decline loans or aid from the 18 countries of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) – among them Spain, Britain and Australia – that backed a resolution to investigate Duterte’s crackdown.
Police say they have killed more than 6,700 suspected drug dealers who all resisted arrest, and deny involvement in the mysterious murders of thousands more drug users.
Police reject allegations by human rights groups that they have executed targets, falsified reports and tampered with evidence and crime scenes.
Presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said the poll showed that the international community had a warped understanding of what was happening.
“If it’s true that there are human rights violations then the people of this country will rise against this administration,” Panelo said on Monday.
“It’s not true that policemen just kill at will, they cannot do that,” he added.
The 47-member Council approved a resolution in July to compile a comprehensive report on the killings, which Manila’s foreign secretary said will not be permitted in the Philippines.
Panelo said domestic investigations had been undertaken already, and the UN resolution was “not only unfair, it’s an insult.”
The International Criminal Court has since last year been conducting a preliminary examination to determine if there are grounds to investigate Duterte. He has responded by cancelling the Philippines membership of the court.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said domestic surveys showing support for Duterte and his campaign were exactly why an international probe was needed.
“It’s ridiculous to say there is any sort of serious national investigation into these crimes. It’s laughable,” he told news channel ANC.
“We have total impunity that continues to surround those who are involved in this,” he added.
Negotiations
In other news Duterte has suspended any negotiations over loans or grants from 18 countries that backed a UN human rights resolution calling for an inquiry into human rights conditions in the Philippines, an official said Monday.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte asked his executive secretary last month to issue a confidential memo ordering the suspension of talks on any loans and grants that might be offered by the 18 countries.
Panelo initially denied last week that Duterte had issued the order but then said the president later remembered he had done so when he was shown a copy of the Aug 27 memo signed by his executive secretary.
The 18 countries supported an Iceland-initiated resolution in July that asked the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to look into human rights conditions in the Philippines under Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown, which has left thousands of mostly poor drug suspects dead. Duterte reacted angrily to the 18 countries, particularly Iceland.
Panelo downplayed the effect of Duterte’s move, saying it would not have a significant effect on the government’s infrastructure program.
Existing foreign grants of about $377 million, some from countries which supported the proposed UN human rights investigation like Australia, will not be affected, Panelo said.
Only a loan from Britain is likely to be affected because it has made compliance with human rights standards a requirement for loan approval, officials said.
“It will not dramatically, even slightly I think, impact on our economy,” Panelo said.
He quoted Duterte as saying, “tell them I’m really deliberately resorting to expletives because I’m angry at what they’re doing to us and our country. They want us investigated and look who are talking, they are actually the murderers.”
The UN Human Rights Council voted 18-14 with 15 abstentions in July to approve the resolution, which called on the Philippine government to take all steps to prevent extrajudicial killings in addition to asking the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a comprehensive report on the Philippines.
The resolution called for Philippine government cooperation, “including by facilitating country visits and preventing and refraining from all acts of intimidation or retaliation.”
Duterte, a former prosecutor, has repeatedly lashed out at UN human rights experts critical of his anti-drug campaign. Separately, an International Criminal Court prosecutor is examining information about the drug killings.
Duterte and the police have denied authorizing extrajudicial killings.