MANILA — Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Monday said he is not closing his doors to the United Nation (UN) experts’ probe into the human rights violations in the Philippines.
Angara, however, said the UN experts should conduct the investigation in such a way that they do not “dictate” on the Philippine government’s policies.
“Kung may pagkukulang, sabihan ninyo kami anong kailangang gawin, pero don’t dictate to us sana (If we have shortcomings, let us know what we need to do, but don’t dictate to us),” Angara said in an interview over CNN.
Angara added that although the UN experts are always free to point out what the domestic institutions can do, they should not disrespect Philippine sovereignty.
“They can do a probe, but don’t—you know, do it in such a way na (that), ‘We think you should do this.’ But don’t tell us, ‘Do this!’” Angara said.
“They can do a probe, if they want, you know. But do it within respecting the framework of our sovereignty. Because, you know, there’s no super national government in the world,” he added.
He, however, expressed support for the U.N., reminding them of their foundation which is the sovereignty of states.
“If they want to see progress, but through domestic government. So give our institutions a chance,” Angara said.
On Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the UN experts were only going to repeat their “false” allegations against the administration when they proceed with their independent probe.
He said a probe may no longer be necessary since the UN experts have seemingly “concluded” that there are indeed human rights violations in relation to the Duterte administration’s drug war.
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