PES Deputy Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck was stopped by border police on his way to a political congress in Cebu | European Union EU political party official expelled from the Philippines Party of European Socialists representative told he is blacklisted due to ‘illegal political activities.’

An official from the the Party of European Socialists (PES) was detained and expelled from the Philippines on Sunday, the party said.

PES Deputy Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck was stopped by border police on his way to a political congress in Cebu, hosted by a sister party of the PES, the party said in a statement.

The PES said that Filibeck was told he had been blacklisted from entering the Philippines for engaging in "illegal political activities."

"I understand from our colleagues in the Philippines that this is the first time a foreign national has been expelled from the country for political reasons. The sinister motive behind this outrageous act is clear: our political family is on the front line in the fight to defend human rights in the Philippines," PES President Sergei Stanishev said in the statement.

In October last year, Filibeck was part of an international mission that visited the country, and publicly called for an investigation into Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug push, which has seen thousands of extrajudicial killings. That same month, Duterte warned EU diplomats not to "f--- with us," threatening to deport anyone if they tried to "interfere" in the country.

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