(Eagle News)—The Palace on Thursday, Feb. 28, denied the government was waging a war on human rights defenders.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement as he slammed the Observatory of Human Rights Defenders report that said the Duterte administration “has taken measures that have actively contributed to an increasingly hostile environment for human rights defenders.”
According to Panelo, the allegations in the report were “a rehash of the old issues thrown against the administration.”
“One of their references and sources of information is Karapatan, a member of the OMCT (World Organization Against Torture) network that has been historically biased against the government, so we do not expect a fair and objective assessment,” he said.
He added in the absence of cases filed against Duterte, the “allegations will remain unfounded and politically motivated untruths aimed at shaming the Philippine government before the international community.”
According to Panelo, “there is only one (war) against criminals, including drug pushers, and their protectors.”
“PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) remains the most approved and the most trusted Filipino official in the Philippines,” he added.