Whimsical decision

But members of the political opposition questioned the wisdom of the administration’s decision to turn down development aid from the EU.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said it was yet another reckless and whimsical decision by the Duterte administration.

“Instead of being arrogant and hateful, as president of a developing country, Duterte ought to be grateful that there are donor countries that are concerned about the plight of our countrymen and are willing to help us,” Trillanes said.

Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said that the administration should come up with a clear foreign policy direction and that the public should be made aware of this.

“From the way things are going, it seems that only the Palace is aware of the details of the direction that they want to take. They should reveal this to the Filipino people,” Aquino said.

“The administration’s refusal to receive aid seems like a contradictory move to its proposal to raise taxes. If we are refusing aid because we are self-sufficient, why are we then planning to burden our countrymen with more taxes that might raise prices of goods even higher,” he added.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party, said that while it is the prerogative of the government to refuse help from its foreign friends, it should also act swiftly and ensure that all existing and ongoing EU programs would not be affected when aid is pulled out.

“The administration must then provide these ongoing projects with sufficient government funding,” Pangilinan said.

“Nevertheless, the EU’s expression of concern over the war on drugs, including the incarceration of Senator Leila de Lima, should not cause the Philippines to step back in our relationship with EU,” he added.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the contradictory and confusing statements from the Duterte government on the issue are alarming.

“The fact that it is at a loss for a coherent explanation for this unprecedented foreign policy decision should serve as basis for it to pause for deep reflection and reconsideration,” Hontiveros said.

“I call on the Duterte government to get its act together and fully explain the reasons behind this unprecedented foreign policy decision. Was this based on a thorough appraisal of EU aid in the Philippines? What foreign policy objective will this serve? I hope that this is not simply a reaction to the criticisms hurled by the EU regarding the human rights situation in the country, which if true, would be myopic and irresponsible,” she added.

For Akbayan party-list group, the administration’s rejection of EU assistance was another way for Duterte to evade accountability for human rights violations in the conduct of his war on drugs.