UN Spcl rapporteur should be declared persona non grata, says youth cmm’n

National Youth Commission chairman Ronald Cardema during NTF-Elcac press conference. (Screengrab from Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations special rapporteur who called for the dismantling of government’s anti-communist task force should be declared persona non grata, a youth commission chairman said on Thursday.

This statement against United Nations Special Rapporteur Ian Fry was made Thursday by National Youth Commission chairperson Ronald Cardema.

Cardema talked during a press conference of National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

“’Yung UN special rapporteur na nagsabing i-abolish ang NTF-ELCAC, dapat i-persona non grata sa Pilipinas ‘yan,” he said.

(The UN special rapporteur who said NTF-ELCAC should be abolished, that individual should be declared persona non grata.)

“Bakit siya pupunta sa Pilipinas at makikialam siya at sasabihing i-abolish (NTF Elcac)?” he asked.

(Why would he visit the Philippines, meddle, and then, say NTF-Elcac should be abolished?)

“Wala siyang alam sa nangyayari sa Pilipinas at sa ating mga magagandang solusyon para matapos ang rebellion sa ating bansa,” he noted.

(He knows nothing about what is happening in the Philippines and in our good solutions to end rebellion in our country.)

United Nations Special Rapporteur Ian Fry (File photo from OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS website / November 6, 2023)

Fry on Wednesday urged government to dissolve NTF-ELCAC, saying the task force “is operating beyond its original mandate and is red-tagging people from the community.”

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, who also served as vice chairman of the task force, rejected Fry’s recommendation.

He invited Fry for a dialogue.