Palace slams new Amnesty International report

MALACAÑANG on Wednesday decried President Rodrigo Duterte's inclusion in watchdog group Amnesty International's (AI) list of politicians “wielding a toxic agenda.”

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the findings of AI’s annual report on human rights around the world is not reflective of the judgment of the majority of the Filipino people.

“The President received an overwhelming mandate last election; and presently, more than eight out of 10 Filipinos trust and are satisfied with the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, and its handling of criminality, according to recent surveys,” Abella said in a statement.

In its annual report titled "The State of the World’s Human Rights," AI said “divisive” fear-mongering by anti-establishment politicians like Duterte “is fueling a global pushback against human rights and leaving the global response to mass atrocities perilously.”

AI noted that 2016 has become a year “when cynical use of ‘us vs. them’ narratives of blame, hate and fear took on a global prominence to a level not seen since 1930s.”

The group then named Duterte, along with United States President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Turkish President Recep Tayyop Erdogan, as the politicians who are “wielding a toxic agenda that hounds scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of people.”

AI said governments appeared to have “turned a blind eye to war crimes, pushed through deals than undermine the right to claim asylum, passed laws that violate free expression, incited murder of people simply because of using drugs, justified torture and mass surveillance, and extended draconian police powers.”

AI cited Duterte's deadly campaign on illegal drugs, claiming the lives of thousands of suspected drug personalities, as “the rise and impact of poisonous rhetoric, national crackdowns on activities and freedom of expression.”