Malacañang has expressed gratitude towards the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for passing a resolution on the technical cooperation and capacity building for the protection of human rights in the Philippines.
“We always welcome cooperation. Ang ayaw lang po ng Presidente ‘yung pula nang pula wala namang solusyon. At nagpapasalamat po kami dahil iyan po ay nagpapakita na nagtitiwala pa rin ang UN Human Rights Council sa mga institusyon para mapanagot po ang mga lumalabag sa karapatang pantao ng ating mga kababayan. So we will fully cooperate po with the UN Human Rights system. (We always welcome cooperation. What the President does not want is criticism without solution. We are thankful because it shows that the UNHRC still trusts the institutions [in the country] to hold responsible those who violate the human rights of our citizens),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque bared.
He also agreed with the statement of Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Evan Garcia saying that the situation of the Philippines and the UN has taken a “U-turn” in the new development.
“In the past months, government agencies have, in accordance with national priorities, identified projects for the joint program in the areas of strengthening investigative and accountability mechanism. As a result of these ongoing discussions, our delegations decided to submit jointly a draft resolution. The council is now considering a technical cooperation and capacity building for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, Malacañang understands that there are still groups dismayed by the decision of the UNHRC.
According to Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes, “despite falling short of expectations, the UNHRC resolution does not get the Philippines off the hook. Quite the opposite, it affirms the existence of human rights violations in the Philippines.”
Report from Mela Lesmoras
