DND wants exemption from foreign aid deals

President Duterte will evaluate the appeal of the defense department to exempt military deals from his order banning foreign aid from countries that backed an Iceland-led resolution seeking a review of the Philippines’ war on illegal drugs, his spokesman said yesterday.

“The President is a very reasonable man. If it involves national security, he might. I do not know yet, we have to wait for his thoughts on the matter,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a press briefing.

“We will wait for the... evaluation of the secretary of national defense... I’m certain the President will evaluate it,” he added.

At a forum in Mandaluyong City, defense chief Delfin Lorenzana said “we are going to follow what the directive is” but maintained “we are going to request for an exemption because we really need to transact business with other countries.”

Lorenzana explained the President’s directive was only for grants and loans and doesn’t cover buying of key defense equipment from any particular state.

“We are now in the process of talking with the Australians about the building of our six offshore patrol vessels. We’re going to buy that. I will talk again with the higher ups on how we can go around the directive of the President. But we will follow the directive,” the defense secretary said.

Eighteen countries voted for the adoption of an Iceland-led resolution calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to look into the human rights situation in the Philippines, including the deaths tied to the campaign against narcotics.

Fourteen countries voted against the resolution while 15 abstained from the voting.

Those that backed the resolution were Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

Those opposed were the Philippines, Angola, Bahrain, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Hungary, India, Iraq, Qatar, Somalia and Saudi Arabia, while abstaining were Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Japan, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo and Tunisia.

To show its “strong rejection” to the resolution, Malacañang issued a memorandum ordering agencies to suspend negotiations for and signing of all loan and grant agreements with the governments of countries that co-sponsored and voted in favor of the resolution. –