US officials told: See for yourself scourge of drugs

MANILA, Philippines — Senators have invited US government officials to visit the Philippines to see for themselves the extent of the country’s drug problem, in connection with the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima over alleged drug offenses.

The invitation came as the $1.4-trillion 2020 US budget signed by President Donald Trump last week contained a provision that allows the Secretary of State to bar the entry of any Philippine official found to be involved in the “wrongful” detention of De Lima.

“Washington said the Philippines and the US are friends. As a true friend, if you have anything against what we’re doing, don’t you think the question you should ask first is: ‘Is there anything we can do to help?’” Sen. Christopher Go said.

“Maybe, so they can understand what’s really happening in our country. I’m inviting US government officials to come here to the Philippines, so you can personally witness the actual situation. So you can see how drugs are destroying Filipino families,” Go added.

He said he would respect any move of the US to impose a visa ban, but asked Washington to “understand where Filipinos are coming from.”

Go said an overwhelming majority of Filipinos support President Duterte and his policies.

Sen. Francis Tolentino downplayed the effects of what he described as the “wayward” provision, adding that US policies must be respected.

“The friendship between the Philippines and the US should not be affected by this wayward provision,” Tolentino said.

He said the US has every right to bar the entry of any foreigner into its territory as stated in the US Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 or the McCarran-Walter Act.

“Even without that rider provision in the budget, every sovereign state has the right to forbid the entrance of foreigners within its borders,” Tolentino said.

“We should respect the immigration laws of the US. On the other hand, as a sovereign state, the Philippines deserves respect for its judicial system and the application of its penal laws within its territory, upon the highest consideration of international comity and as an act of state,” he said.

The controversial provisions were put in as amendments to the US Fiscal Year 2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations section of the budget by US Sens. Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy several days prior to its enactment.

A section entitled “Prohibition on Entry” states that the US Secretary of State “shall apply sub-section (c) to foreign government officials about whom the secretary has credible information have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of… Sen. Leila de Lima who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017.”

The section also called for the same sanctions for officials of the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for the detention of a US citizen.

De Lima has been detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City since February 2017 on what she claimed were trumped-up drug charges.

In a handwritten statement, she said her gratitude to the US Congress was “overwhelming.”

“This development signals the fact that impunity cannot last and that one way or another, justice will catch up with those who choose to do injustice to others. This also signifies a solid recognition by the US government that I am a clear victim of political persecution,” De Lima said.

Extrajudicial killings belied

Meanwhile, the Philippine embassy in Moscow recently updated Filipinos in Russia about the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

During a briefing attended by more than 80 members of the Filipino community, Philippine Consul General Robert Ferrer presented government’s anti-drug campaign in real numbers with the phrase “Tunay na numero, tunay na tagumpay, tunay na pagbabago” to belie extrajudicial killings under Oplan Tokhang.

As of February this year, the embassy said the official number of people killed in anti-narcotics operations was only 5,281, as opposed to bloated numbers released by media and international human rights organizations.

The Philippines’ top diplomat highlighted yesterday the Department of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to reach out to more Filipinos abroad and the international community to gather support for President Duterte’s programs.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. urged Filipinos to continue working with the government to lift the country further.

“Each year, we face challenges but through our collective contributions, we will succeed in our aspirations,” he said.

During the 74th Session of the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City in September, Locsin defended the administration’s campaign against drugs. – With Pia Lee-Brago