‘Toxic intrusion’: Palace hits San Francisco Supervisors’ reso on drug war

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Sunday slammed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for believing “the false narratives” and “the bogus statistics” on the administration’s drug war, further calling it as toxic intrusion.

“The resolution is a toxic and unacceptable intrusion to our legal processes and an outrageous interference with our country’s sovereignty,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

“Like some US Senators, the San Francisco Supervisors have either developed an amnesia or have not outgrown their colonial mentality. They should be shaken from their stupor and wake up to the fact that the Philippines had long ceased to be a colony of the United States and will never be a vassal to it,” he added.

The resolution that Panelo was referring to the one authored by Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

Under the resolution, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors condemned the Philippine government for its alleged “state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings by police,” and the detention of Senator Leila de Lima.

According to Drug Archive released by the Ateneo School of Government last Friday, more than 7,000 drug suspects have been shot dead during the course of the Duterte administration’s three-year war on drugs

READ: Academe-led database: Over 7,000 suspects killed in 3-year drug war

Panelo then denied that the killings in the Philippines are state-sponsored, citing the case of the 17-year old Kian Delos Santos who died during the height of the drug war.

“For the San Francisco Supervisors’ education, extrajudicial killings or deaths arising from drug-related killings are absolutely not state-initiated nor sponsored, proof of which is the death of scores of policemen coupled with the serious injuries to hundreds of others,” Panelo said.

“The dismissal and prosecution of a Manila police officer for killing an epileptic in a false drug raid, together with last year’s conviction of three Caloocan police officers for the killing of a teenager, underscores the policy that this Administration does not tolerate police abuse,” he added.

As for the case of De Lima, Panelo said that her case is currently being put into trial, along with the cases of Senator Antonio Trillanes and Rappler Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa.

“They have been afforded their rights to due process. Their criminal prosecution is anchored on their transgressions of our laws and it has absolutely nothing to do with their being critical of the Administration,” Panelo said.

Earlier this month, five US senators introduced a resolution that condemned the Philippine government for the continued detention De Lima and its role in “state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings by police and other armed individuals as part of the ‘War on Drugs.’”

READ: 5 US senators: Free De Lima

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the City and County of San Francisco, California in the US. The Board consists of 11 members. /je