RIGHTS watchdog Amnesty International (AI) Philippines said the Philippines has transformed into a "far more dangerous place" under the ironclad leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The AI issued the statement four days before Duterte is scheduled to deliver his third State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. was quick to counter human rights group's allegation, as he cited the Social Weather Stations' previous survey that the number of crime victims in 2017 were only at 6.1 percent.
"There is no truth to the statement of Amnesty International that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has made the Philippines 'a far more dangerous place,'" Roque said in a statement on Friday, July 20.
In its statement, AI Philippines slammed the President's failure to protect the Filipinos' human rights since he assumed office in 2016.
"Impunity and lack of accountability have been shamelessly displayed at almost all levels of his administration, failing to meet its basic job to protect the Filipino people, including meeting their basic economic needs and civil liberties," the rights organization said in a statement.
AI section director Jose Noel Olano said Duterte's human rights agenda went "on a downward spiral" since the latter's first Sona because his administration "does not know how to listen."
Olano claimed that the worsening human rights situation in the country was driven by Duterte's "resistance" to recommendations of "more diverse sectors" and his "shortsightedness" in accepting criticisms from the international community.
The AI official futher said that Duterte's pledge to keep the country safe for the people have become a "mere lip service."
Duterte has introduced policies and programs, such as anti-narcotics crackdown and anti-loitering drive, in a bid to deter the proliferation of crimes in the country. His brutal drug war has so far claimed the lives of more than 4,000 suspected drug personalities, based on official police records.
Olano said Duterte apparently incited the killings of individuals, especially those who belong to the poor sector.
"President Duterte has actively created a climate where anyone can kill or be killed, the poor were the obvious prey but more recently, even government officials. The situation has given anyone a free reign to commit human rights abuses and violations with impunity where social and political division thrive, leading to greater potential for human rights violations," he said.
"Abandoning human rights values and principles is a failure on his part and comes with a huge cost of essentially guaranteeing that no one can ever be safe because the country has become a far more dangerous place," he added.
Responding to the AI's remark, Roque maintained that Duterte's war on illegal drugs is carried out through legitimate police enforcement operations.
He added that the drug-related deaths were recorded because of the alleged drug personalities' "violent resistance to lawful apprehensions."
"Eighty-eight percent, or more than eight out of 10 Filipinos support the President's war on drugs, according to a Pulse Asia survey," he said.
"As a member of the bar, the President has prosecuted murder as a capital offense. He, therefore, does not and will never condone extralegal killings, as he maintains zero tolerance for erring policemen who digress from standard protocols and abuse their power," he added. (SunStar Philippines)