PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte may have become critical of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), but he has no plans of withdrawing the Philippines' membership in the council, Malacañang said Thursday, June 21.
Speaking to Palace reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the Philippines would not join the United States (US) in leaving the UNHRC.
"We are also in the UN Human Rights Council. We are not following suit, if that's the question. The President has no reaction on what the Americans have decided," he said.
Roque made the remark even after Duterte has repeatedly thrown tirades peppered with profanities against the UNHRC for criticizing his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs.
On Tuesday, June 19, the US pulled out of the "hyporcticial and self-serving" UNHRC because of its supposed "political bias" against Israel, an ally of the most powerful nation.
The US also accused the council as a "protector of human rights abusers" as it was allegedly "politicizing and scapegoating countries with positive human rights records."
Sought for comment on the US' withdrawal from the international rights council, Roque refused to give a reaction on behalf of Malacañang, stressing that Duterte is "very careful never to comment on sovereign decisions."
"You know, the President is very careful never to comment on sovereign decisions, in the same way that he does not want other states commenting on sovereign decisions," Roque said.
"So we leave it at that. [It's] the decision of the Americans, so be it," he added. (SunStar Philippines)