EU urges PH to stop killings

The European Parliament on Thursday called on the Philippine government to stop extrajudicial killings in the pretext of a “war on drugs” and expressed concern that police authorities are “falsifying evidence to justify extrajudicial killings.”

In a resolution, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also asked the Philippine government to stop attacks against those who expose allegations of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations.

They said human rights defenders like Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, should be removed from the government’s list of terrorists and pressed for the release from detention of the former Commission on Human Rights chair, Sen. Leila de Lima.

The MEPs also called on the European Union and its member states to “consider calling for the Republic of the Philippines to be removed from the United Nations Human Rights Council before its current membership term expires at the end of 2018.”

They also called on the European Union and its member states to “support a United Nations-led investigation into the killings in the Philippines and for those accountable to be brought to justice.”

“MEPs urge the Philippine authorities to stop extrajudicial killings and condemn them for trying to justify these murders with falsified evidence,” a news release issued by the European Parliament said.

The European Parliament exercises the legislative function of the EU. It is also an important forum for political debate and decision-making.

Its members are directly elected by voters in all member states.

The European Parliament also said it was “alarmed about increasing levels of corruption under the current Philippine administration.”

It asked the Philippine government to “stop banning the entry into the country of persons who are perceived as critics of President Duterte’s policies.”

On Monday, an EU political party official was detained and deported from the Philippines while on his way to a political congress in Cebu.

Immigration authorities said Party of European Socialists Deputy Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck has been banned from entering the Philippines for engaging in “illegal political activities.”