Foreign Affairs Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr. this Thursday that the Philippines needs technical assistance to curb illegal drugs and human rights issues.
Locsin said the Philippines needed it at the Senate hearing but not the individuals who judged the country’s steps in its drug war.
Locsin explained this after Sen. Imee Marcos asked regarding the new resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which offers technical assistance and capacity building in the Philippines.
The secretary stressed that the Philippines needs help, and the country is ready to negotiate for it, but they will not ask for it by entering the country with pre-judged individuals.
He said he would block them when they enter the country. Among the names he mentioned is UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Agnes Callamard, who has long been a critic of the Duterte administration.
Locsin added that he explained to the UN what the country is doing to curb illegal drugs.
He said it is true that there were some mistakes initially, and now the country needs technical cooperation.
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Locsin: PH needs technical help from other countries
He also stressed to the UN that instead of embarrassing the Philippines with no evidence presented, it would be better if they just helped.
He also told the UN that if the government leaders were bad people, they would have promoted illegal drugs and did not stop it.
Amid accusations of extrajudicial killings, President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday night that he has never killed anyone after claiming on several occasions that he had taken lives before.
“I have yet to find ‘yung sabi nila na idedemanda si Duque dahil may kasalanan. I have read the filings, and for the life of me, I cannot really find a good reason to prosecute an innocent man,” Duterte said.
“Maraming sinasabi ‘Rule of law, hindi ka naman sumusunod. Marami kang pinapatay.’ Wala ho akong pinatay na tao. Never, never. Magtanong ka sa pulis dito sa Pilipinas,” he added.
Duterte also said that he has never ordered anybody to kill.