Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Salvador Panelo. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday dismissed the remarks of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet that the drug war in the Philippines “should not be considered a model by any country.”
Bachelet slammed the drug policies in the Philippines for its “lack of respect for the rule of law and international standards.”
READ: UN human rights chief urges gov’t to respect rule of law in drug war
“The problem with the statement coming from the UN officials–he relies, she relies on what she recieved as information coming from the critics and detractors of the administration,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Panelo also hit Bachelet for her claim, citing several sources, which showed that an estimated 27,000 had been killed in the government’s brutal war on drugs.
“We’ve been saying this info is wrong like for instance when she claims there are 27,000 deaths, and the official count is only 5,000,” he said.
As of January 2019, data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) showed that the total number of drug suspects killed rose to 5,176 since Duterte launched his brutal war on drugs in July 2016.
READ: Duterte: My last 3 years in office to be ‘most dangerous’ in drug war
Panelo assailed the meddling of foreign officials in the country, especially regarding policies on how to address the drug problem.
“Ilan beses na sinasabi natin na mas marunong pa sila dito sa bansa how to deal with our problems,” he said. /jpv