Philippine reps reduce budget of rights panel to RM86
MANILA: Lawmakers have moved to cut the budget of the human rights commission to US$20 (RM86) and impeach the Supreme Court chief justice in what critics yesterday labelled a slide towards dictatorship under President Rodrigo Duterte.
The twin votes in the House of Representatives added to a growing climate of fear that Duterte is determined to silence anyone critical of his drug war.
Duterte directly drew a link between Tuesday night’s vote to cut the Commission on Human Rights' annual budget from 678 million pesos (RM5.6 million) to 1,000 pesos, and its investigations into the drug war killings and related criticism by its chairman.
“He had it coming,” said Duterte, referring to commission chairman Jose Gascon.
“They gave him only 1,000 pesos because Congress is angry.”
Duterte’s allies in the lower house’s Justice Committee also voted to impeach its chief justice after determining corruption allegations against her had substance. The chief justice, Maria Lourdes Sereno, has been another critic of the drug war.
She wrote Duterte a letter last year expressing concern about him publicly naming seven judges as being involved in the drug trade, warning it made them vulnerable to being killed.
Duterte responded by threatening to declare martial law. AFP