The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday urged the Duterte government to be “more circumspect” in its pronouncements following the President’s latest remarks that he molested a house help as a teenager.

In a statement, lawyer Jacqueline Ann de Guia, CHR spokesperson, expressed concern that the President’s statements may “undermine” government efforts to protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

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‘Be consistent’

“We then encourage the administration to be consistent both in words and deeds in this regard, and refrain from making statements that may contravene its commitment to uphold the rights of Filipino workers abroad, such as the previous remark by the President claiming to have abused a female domestic worker during his teenage years,” she said.

In a speech in Kidapawan City, Cotabato, on Dec. 29, Mr. Duterte admitted to sexually molesting a maid, but which his spokesperson later claimed was merely a made-up story.

The President said he once confessed to a priest that when he was a student in Ateneo de Davao, he sneaked into the maid’s room while she was asleep.

“I lifted the blanket… I tried to touch what was inside the panty. I was touching. She woke up so I left the room,” the President said.

According to the CHR, the President’s pronouncements about molesting a maid does not bode well for the thousands of Filipino maids overseas, many of whom have suffered abuses at the hands of their employers.

Show respect for people

“The current administration is fully aware of this condition when, in early 2018, the government even prompted a deployment ban in Kuwait following numerous cases of disappearance, death and abuses of Filipino workers. Reports of similar forms of maltreatment are also being reported in other countries,” De Guia said.

The CHR spokesperson urged the government to lead efforts of showing respect for its own people.

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“We stress that furthering injustices will not lead to a just and humane society. More importantly, respect should always start at home—here in our own country,” she said.

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