Philippines envoy hits back at UK for dismay over Duterte's 'brutal regime'

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK) Antonio Lagdameo stressed that the country is committed to human rights in response to an article published in a British newspaper which appears to be critical of the Duterte administration.

The Guardian recently published an article titled "Dismay over Liam Fox's claim of 'shared values' with Duterte's brutal regime."

London senior officials have expressed concern over the declaration of UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox of "shared values" with President Rodrigo Duterte, whose war on drugs has killed more than 7,000 people.

This declaration has prompted dismay about the British government's approach to human rights as it seeks post-Brexit trade deals, The Guardian reported.

Barry Gardiner, shadow secretary of state for international trade, warned about the association of Fox with Duterte.

"I’m sorry, but we do not have these shared common values with President Duterte who wants to bring back the death penalty and lower the age of criminal responsibility to nine," Gardiner told The Guardian.

UK Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Tom Brake described Duterte as "one of the 21st century's most sinister leaders."

Lagdameo wrote a letter to The Guardian in response to the article and stressed that Duterte's war on drugs adheres to the rule of law, due process and human rights.

"It is anchored not only in law enforcement, but also in rehabilitation of drug addicts, and poverty alleviation programmes aimed to improve the lives of victims, especially young people," Lagdameo said.

The Duterte-appointed ambassador called on the international community to look beyond media reports on killings of drug suspects in the Philippines.

"Let me assure those who have raised concern on the campaign against illegal drugs: all these killings are being thoroughly and impartially investigated. Philippine authorities are committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice," Lagdameo said.

Meanwhile, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that Lagdameo's statement shows that he is unaware or unwilling to publicly acknowledge how Duterte has made repeated calls for killings as part of the drug war.

Phelim Kine, HRW Asia Division Deputy Director, stressed that Duterte's killing campaign has largely targeted the poor and could amount to crimes against humanity, as defined by the International Criminal Court.

"On March 26, Duterte admitted that impoverished Filipinos constituted a large percentage of drug war victims and sought to justify those killings on the basis that he needed to 'clean up' the Philippines," Kine said.

Kine also noted that Lagdameo is not the only Philippine official publicly soft-pedalling the death toll of Duterte's drug war.

Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa has consistently resisted calls for an independent inquiry into the 2,622 killings attributed to the police since Duterte took office. He said that this would harm the morale of the police, Kine said.

"Filipinos deserve accountability for the human rights calamity that Duterte has unleashed on their country in the guise of a 'war on drugs,' not cynical spin by diplomats and senior government officials," Kine said.