Philippines bars EU party official critical of Duterte

Italian Filibeck was part of a delegation which denounced ‘extrajudicial killings’

The Philippines has barred entry to an EU party official critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drugs crackdown, in a move denounced by critics yesterday as a gag on dissent.

Italian Giacomo Filibeck was detained by border police upon his arrival at Cebu airport on Sunday and deported for engaging in “illegal political activities”, his party said.

Filibeck, the deputy secretary general of the Party of European Socialists, flew to the Philippines at the invitation of opposition party Akbayan to attend a congress.

He had been part of a delegation of European politicians who conducted an October 2017 fact-finding mission in the Philippines which denounced the “extrajudicial killings” of thousands of people in Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown.

“This is a gag order to all and sundry that you cannot look into the human rights situation in the Philippines,” Akbayan congressman Tom Villarin said.

“Actions of the Duterte government … really show that degree of impunity has risen to the level of a dictatorship,” he added.

Unprecedented campaign

Duterte has launched an unprecedented campaign against drugs since 2016.

Police say they have killed 4,100 drug suspects as part of the campaign, while rights groups claim the toll is higher.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Filibeck was refused entry for violating local laws.

“Mr Filibeck has been blacklisted by the [immigration bureau] for violation of our immigration laws which prohibit aliens staying in our country from engaging in political activities,” he said.