A United Nations (UN) envoy may be declared persona non grata in the Philippines for spreading lies about the Duterte government’s campaign against illegal drugs, a Palace official said on Tuesday.
Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, made “baseless” accusations against the government without conducting a proper investigation.
“Alam mo iyan si Callamard, she’s full of canards. Wala siyang basehan sa lahat ng mga akusasyon niya,” Panelo said in a radio interview.
“So hindi kataka-taka kung ma-deklara nga siyang persona non grata sa Pilipinas. Naghahasik lang siya ng lagim, ng kasinungalingan laban kay Presidente Duterte,” he added.
Panello added that Callamard lost her credibility after the UN has distanced from her statements about the anti-drug efforts. “The fact alone UN made a statement na hindi naman totoo iyong sinasabi niya eh I think that’s sufficient enough to demolish or destroy her credibility,” he said.
Callamard recently made an unofficial visit to Manila to attend a conference on human rights issues. The UN expert took the chance to assail the rising death toll linked to the Philippine government’s anti-drug efforts, saying the “war on drugs does not work.” (Genalyn Kabiling)