UNITED Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur Irene Khan is in Manila to assess the government’s human rights mechanisms, particularly on the freedom of opinion and expression, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.
Khan, who is the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, arrived yesterday for a 10-day visit.
The DFA and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said Khan, who will be staying in the country until February 2, is expected to meet with representatives of the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), Anti-Terrorism Council Program Management Center (ATC-PMC), National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), Department of Justice (DOJ), DFA, Supreme Court, House of Representatives, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), among others.
“Ms. Khan will examine the state of rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the country through a series of diverse and cooperative dialogues. Her visit, spanning Metro Manila, Baguio City, and Cebu City, will focus on exploring legal and policy frameworks related to the safety of journalists and their sources, freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age, media freedom, access to information, disinformation, hate speech, and the expression of marginalized individuals, including indigenous peoples,” the DFA said in a brief statement.
“In the spirit of openness and cooperation, the Philippine government is giving its full support for the successful implementation of the UN SR’s mandate during her country visit.
This visit underscores the Philippines’ commitment to fostering a robust environment for freedom of expression and opinion, in alignment with global human rights principles,” it also said.
At the end of her visit, Khan is expected to come up with a final report to be considered during the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2025.
PTFoMS Executive Director and Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez said the visit of Khan provides an opportunity for the government to highlight the Philippines’ unwavering dedication to openness, transparency, and a thriving media landscape.
Gutierrez also expects the visit to reinforce the country’s standing as a strong advocate for the respect for human rights, freedom of expression and international humanitarian laws.
“The government remains steadfast in its efforts to foster an environment where anyone can freely express their opinion without fear,” he said.
Khan is the third Special Rapporteur received by the Philippines since 2022, as part of the government’s open and constructive engagement on human rights with relevant UN mechanisms.
Last year, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz and Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights Ian Fry also visited the country.
UN Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council who address either specific country situations or thematic areas around the world.
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano welcomed Khan’s presence in the country, saying her visit will enable them to get tips on how to further boost the campaign against cybercrimes and human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is a particularly insidious crime that has found a breeding ground in the Philippines due to its geographical location, widespread poverty, and often inadequate law enforcement mechanisms,” Clavano said, adding the country needs international partners in the fight against cybercrimes and human trafficking.
ICC DRUGS PROBE
Meanwhile, lawyer Salvador Panelo, former presidential legal counsel and spokesman of former President Rodrigo Duterte, yesterday insisted the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction over the former chief executive and the Philippines amid reports that investigators visited the country last month.
Panelo, in a statement, said there was also no validation from the government that the ICC probers were indeed in the country and interviewed individuals in connection with the war on drugs campaign of the Duterte government.
He said the disclosures of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV that the ICC investigators have completed their probe and are now collating evidence against Duterte and other personalities involved in the drug war were “irrelevant” and “speculative.”
“There is no validation from the government that the ICC probers have set foot in the country. It’s pure ‘chismis (rumors).’ It’s fake news. Even assuming that they are here, they cannot pluck out evidence from nothing. Hearsay and speculations are not evidence,” Panelo said.
He stressed that any attempt and insistence by the ICC to investigate alleged violations of human rights in the Philippines is an “assault to (the country’s) sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“This outrageous intrusion must not be countenanced and aggressively condemned,” he said, reiterating that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Duterte or the Philippines after the failed publication in the Philippines of the ratification of the Rome Statute that created the international body, and the country’s withdrawal from the ICC.
He said the Rome Statute is “not enforceable for lack of the requisite publication in the Official Gazette, coupled with the fact that, assuming that ICC had initially had jurisdiction, the country’s formal and effective withdrawal of its membership thereto divested ICC of its jurisdiction over the country”.
In 2019, the Philippines, during the Duterte presidency, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, amid a complaint against the former president and his drug war which has reportedly resulted in the deaths of thousands of drug suspects.
The ICC in September 2021 opened a formal inquiry on the drug war, which was suspended in November 2021. The inquiry resumed in January 2023.
In November 2023, President Marcos Jr. said that his administration is studying the possible return of the Philippines to the ICC.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday short of confirmed the presence of the ICC probers in the country.
Citing unnamed sources, Dela Rosa said the ICC team supposedly went to and checked in at a hotel in Boracay Island in Aklan, but quickly added that the information is unconfirmed.
Dela Rosa told reporters he will cooperate with the ICC investigation if the President tells him to do so.
“Hindi ako magko-cooperate dahil sinabi ng government. Kapag sinabi ni Presidente magko-cooperate tayo, as a citizen of the republic, ay susunod ako (I will not cooperate if the government tells me not to. But if the President tells me that we should cooperate, as a citizen of the republic, I will obey),” Dela Rosa said in a press conference.
If Trillanes’ information is true, Dela Rosa said it only shows that the Marcos administration has flip-flopped on its earlier assurance that it will not allow the entry of ICC investigators since the country is no longer under its jurisdiction.
He said that if the government has changed its mind on the matter, he cannot do anything about it. “Kung papasok sila dito at magko-cooperate ang government, eh di maaaresto kami (If the ICC will be allowed entry to the country, and the government cooperates, then we expect that we can be arrested),” he added.
If this is the case, the senator, who was the PNP chief when the Duterte drug campaign took off, said the government should be frank in telling him of its plans.
“What I am asking for from the government is to be man enough to tell us what to do.
Sabihin lang kung nagbago ang ihip ng hangin (Tell me if he has changed his mind.) Please tell us. You are our President, tell us what to do,” he said, adding that he will remain an ally of the Marcos administration since he shares its objective of improving the lives of the Filipino people.
Dela Rosa said that if the ICC probe goes full swing, former Palace spokesman Harry Roque will be his and Duterte’s legal counsel, aside from Sen. Francis Tolentino who has offered his legal services to Dela Rosa for free.
He added he will still seek reelection in the 2025 national elections despite the charges against him before the ICC. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Raymond Africa
