MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday maintained that democracy has never been more alive in the Philippines as he belied the latest report released by international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In a statement, Cayetano accused HRW of misleading the international community when it reported that the human rights situation in the Philippines is at its worst since the time of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“We will not allow Human Rights Watch to portray an unfair and unjust image of our country nor will we let it question the strength of our democracy,” said Cayetano.

“Democracy has never been more alive in the Philippines as we finally have a government that we can really say is of the people and for the people and not for the rich and the powerful alone. Our booming economy is a testament to good governance and adherence to law,” he added.

Cayetano dared HRW to show proof that 12,000 people have died in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, noting that the number of drug personalities killed is 3,968 in 80,683 anti-illegal drugs operations conducted by the government from July 2016 to December 2017.