President Duterte on Tuesday invited the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to establish a satellite office in the Philippines to monitor alleged atrocities of the war on drugs.
In an interview with reporters, Duterte said he is open to the idea of the UNHRC monitoring each and every police operations launched against suspected drug criminals.
“I will personally, through an official channel, invite the human-rights commission of the United Nations to set up a satellite office here,” he said.
Duterte added members of the UNHRC can join police operatives to see if they do really shoot suspects as an act of self-defense. He is also mulling over the possibility of attaching body cameras to authorities while doing their duty so as to record the entire operation.
“Nobody in the police would operate without a camera. It will be strictly followed and [the] media is free to cover and you can send your correspondents there,” he said.
Duterte told the UNHRC it has no other excuse to reject his offer, as he will even provide them with an office. “I will even be the one to provide the office for the human-rights commission and they can put their people there,” he said.
“I will really tell the police to discontinue with their operations without any human-rights officer with them. All of them must wear a camera,” Duterte added.
The UNHRC has repeatedly expressed concern over the rising number of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, mainly linked to the war on drugs. However, the President has shrugged off criticisms not only from the UNHRC, but also from other local and international human-rights groups.
Meanwhile, the earthquake drill on Thursday is not intended to disrupt the massive demonstrations scheduled by administration critics, according to the spokesman of the Office of Civil Defense.
In a chance interview, Civil Defense Spokesman Romina B. Marasigan said the nationwide earthquake drill on Thursday was not meant to upset the protest scheduled on that day. “This is not a distractive strategy. This is an ongoing campaign. [It’s] regular,” Marasigan said.
“Remember our nationwide simultaneous earthquake drills [are] done quarterly. And normally, we do [it] toward the end of the last month of the quarter. [We try as much not to hold it] at the last day of the month,” she added.
The first nationwide earthquake drill was conducted on March 31, while the second was held on June 29. The drills are part of government efforts to prepare the public should a 7-magnitude earthquake hits the Philippines, especially areas lying above the West Valley Fault.
The intention of the drill was a nonissue for activist groups, but its date is. It was scheduled on the day activist groups are scheduled to protest the spate of killings of the Duterte administration and commemorate the declaration of martial law.
In a news statement, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said Malacañang seems to have forgotten the significance of September 21 to the nation, the day the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos placed the whole of the country under military rule.
“So apart from conducting a nationwide earthquake drill on September 21, what will Malacañang do to commemorate the 45th anniversary of martial law? Or has the occasion simply lost its relevance for the Duterte government after allowing a hero’s burial for Marcos, declaring a special holiday in Ilocos and embarking on a settlement with the Marcos family. Is the Duterte [administration] just so insensitive to the plight of martial-law victims?” the statement read.
“This year’s martial-law anniversary ironically comes at a time when there’s [an] actual martial law in Mindanao. It also happens at a time when government is threatening critics with nationwide martial law. It also comes at a time of widespread extrajudicial killings and other human-rights violations,” the statement added.
Bayan claimed, unlike President Duterte, “the people have not forgotten.” The group vowed there will be nationwide protests on Thursday, and it will remain peaceful and organized.