FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. denied Thursday that the government had cancelled its invitation to United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard to go to the Philippines and investigate the spate of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug personalities.
In a statement, Yasay said Callamard only needs to "agree" with the conditions set by the government once she arrives in the country next year.
“We have not cancelled it. It is up to Callamard to agree and comply with the conditions imposed by President Duterte in inviting her to visit the Philippines,” Yasay said.
Yasay made the clarification after international news Reuters quoted him as saying that Callamard can no longer come to the Philippines if she will not be able to come to terms with the Duterte administration.
“They cannot come,” the Foreign Affairs Secretary was quoted as saying in a chance interview in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
“If they will not comply with the conditions of our President regarding their visit to the Philippines to validate their claims, then, the trip will not push through. They cannot come here,” he added.
Callamard has expressed concerns over the rising number of deaths involving alleged drug suspects in the country, since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency in July.
In a letter dated September 26, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea invited Callamard to visit the Philippines and "see for herself" whether the supposed extrajudicial killings in the country are “legally and factually sound.” (Sunnex)