Reruns don’t sell

“Several investigations were held on the supposed trampling of rights and the alleged summary executions… but the charge that those crimes were statesponsored was never proven.

“Legislators of the EU are patrons of groups who have long sought to unseat the President through the mob rule route.

The worn-out narrative of detractors is sliced, diced and then recycled periodically to win a desired attention, primarily from gullible Western governments, which are always scanning the globe for leaders who are not in the mold of their liberal democratic ideals.

Take for instance the recent European Union (EU) Parliament’s allegations of a “rapidly deteriorating human rights situation” in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, which were based entirely on made-up claims of the usual foes.

The recent attacks were continuations of previous failed efforts to whip up adverse public sentiment, which paradoxically resulted to an upswing of support for the President based on recent survey results.

Legislators of the EU are patrons of groups who have long sought to unseat the President through the mob rule route, and their symbiotic relations have persisted since Mr. Duterte assumed power.

The claim of a doubling of the supposed deaths in the war on drugs was proven as wishful peroration.

For the nth time, the European Parliament, in a resolution, wanted the temporary revocation of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus status of the country, which provides for duty-free entry of Philippine goods to EU member states perhaps until a more pliable leader is seated in Malacañang.

Timing the sanctions when traders needed it most has an apparent agenda.

The true intent of the European lawmakers’ move was to sow intrigue since some of the demands made would need the Duterte administration to breach local laws and even the Constitution, such as the unconditional dropping of all cases against Rappler founder Maria Ressa.

Ressa is facing cyber libel and violation of anti-dummy law charges, which, in turn, she claims are part of efforts to silence Rappler due to the frequent critical commentaries and stories that appear in the online news outfit.

Since Ressa said it, then Mr. Duterte must be condemned for the “seriousness of the human rights violations” in the country, including the “deteriorating level of press freedom,” based on the logic of foreign kibitzers.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said the allegations of EU legislators are “wholly unfounded” and based entirely on what those who have an ax to grind stated.

The European politicians made a conclusion based entirely on Ressa’s rants against the President, including what she claimed as the “weaponization of the law” against her.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo gave the meddlers a good piece of advice to think about.

“Do not assault our sovereignty. You don’t have the right to dictate on how we implement our laws,” he said in his program Counterpoint.

Panelo also noted the country has a Constitution that promotes human rights and upholds the rule of law and due process.

Several investigations were held on the supposed trampling of rights and the alleged summary executions conducted by independent local bodies such as the Senate and even the Commission on Human Rights, but the charge that those crimes were state-sponsored was never proven.

The Department of Justice has an ongoing review of deaths that happened during anti-drug operations that incidentally are largely under the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency instead of the police force.

What was found in most cases were the hands of yellow attack dog Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV behind the concocted scenarios, aside from those of Ressa, who seems to be getting a lot of help from the discredited demagogue.