Malacañang accuses HR groups of drug ties
THE PALACE said on Monday that human rights groups’ “vicious and nonstop” attacks against President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s nationwide campaign against illegal drugs could be sign that they are being funded by drug lords.
“The attacks against the President’s war on drugs have been vicious ad nonstop. We therefore do not discount the possibility that some human rights groups have become unwitting tools of drug lords to hinder the strides made by the Administration,” Presidential Spokesperson Herminio Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement.
He added: “To continue to do and thrive in the drug business, these drug lords can easily use their drug money to fund destabilization efforts against the government.”
In a press briefing last week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano had likewise claimed that “nongovernment organizations (NGOs) are being used by drug lords” for their political and business interests.
“The illegal drug trade is a multibillion-peso industry and billions have been lost with the voluntary surrender of more than a million drug users, arrest of tens of thousands of drug personalities, and seizure of billion-peso clandestine drug laboratories and factories,” Mr. Roque said.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) Asia Director Brad Adams said the statements by Messrs. Cayetano and Roque “are shockingly dangerous and shameful.”
“Are they trying to have death squads target human rights activists? Cayetano and Roque provide no evidence. They should withdraw their comments immediately,” Mr. Adams said in a statement issued today, March 26.
In response to Mr. Adams, Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said, “There is no need to withdraw, there is nothing naman, its not even a disparaging statement.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
DENR’s Holy Week reminder: Waste not
THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reminded those going back to their provinces or visiting beaches and mountains during the Holy Week to observe proper waste management.
In a statement on Monday, DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said visitors should help maintain cleanliness and observe environment-friendly practices to avoid pollution and other negative impacts on a tourist destination.
“In the past weeks, we have seen how many of our prime beaches particularly Boracay, El Nido and Puerto Galera, to name a few, have suffered from degradation,” he said.
“The sad thing is that destruction is not confined to these areas alone.”
Mr. Cimatu last week ordered the DENR regional offices to draft management plans for their respective tourist destinations to avoid the same environmental degradation that hit Boracay.
The DENR is expecting solid waste production to increase amid the week-long holiday, especially in beach resorts, which the department sees as the areas most likely to suffer from pollution.
“When our seas are polluted, marine life is affected, fishermen have less to catch, and the very waters that provide livelihood to many through eco-tourism cease to be a source of income,” Mr. Cimatu said. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
