Malacañang on Tuesday said it will be up to President Duterte to decide if the Department of National Defense (DND) will be exempted from the government ban from accepting grant and loans from countries supporting the United Nations (UN) probe on the country’s war against illegal drugs.
In a television interview, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he will ask for the exemption since it could affect the military’s modernization program.
In a press conference, Presidential Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said Duterte may consider granting the proposal as it affect’s national security.
“The President is a very reasonable man. If it involves national security, he might. I don’t know yet. We have to wait for his thoughts on the matter,” Panelo said.
During the weekend, a memorandum from the Palace, which ordered government agencies to temporarily shun grants and loans from 18 countries supporting the “Iceland Resolution,” was released to the public.
The Iceland Resolution called on the UN Human Rights Council to probe the alleged human-rights violations in the country’s war against illegal drugs.
The 18 countries that supported the resolution are Argentina, Austria, Australia, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Iceland, Italy, Peru, Mexico, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland and Uruguay.
Even with the Palace order to agencies to suspend loan and grant negotiations still in effect, Panelo said the country still maintains diplomatic relations with the aforementioned countries.
“Our relations with them are not confined to loans, we have other areas where we could still talk,” Panelo said.
“We also have not observed any adverse effect in the 18 countries. In fact, we don’t hear any reaction coming from them. The ones reacting are the critics [of the administration],” he added.