Cayetano hits EU Parliament for ‘crossing red line’

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano INQUIRER file photo

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has blasted the European Parliament for pushing it too far when it claimed that 12,000 men, women and children died in the government’s war on drugs.

In a statement, Cayetano said that a resolution issued by European lawmakers calling on Manila to end its drug war was “unwarranted and uncalled for,” and that it constituted “interference” in the country’s internal affairs.

“This resolution that the European Parliament just adopted is based on biased, incomplete and even wrong information and does not reflect the true situation on the ground,” Cayetano said on Thursday evening.

“In case the members of the European Parliament are not aware of it, may we remind them that their recommended actions already constitute interference in the affairs of a sovereign state,” the DFA chief stressed.

European lawmakers had adopted a resolution calling on Manila to put an immediate end to the government’s war on drugs.

The resolution also called for the release of Senator Leila de Lima from jail and the removal of United Nations Special Rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz from the Department of Justice’s terrorist list.

But Cayetano stressed that members of the international community are expected to “respect the country’s prerogative to determine national priorities and policies that are responsive to the needs of its people.”

“It is really disappointing that European lawmakers have allowed themselves to be influenced and manipulated by certain interest groups in the Philippines and abroad who have politicized and weaponized human rights as part of their efforts to undermine the legitimately installed government of President Duterte,” Cayetano said.

“We will continue to engage the European Union in constructive dialogue on all issues, including those raised by the European Parliament, based on the principles of sovereignty, non-interference, and mutual respect,” he said. /jpv

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