Andanar rejects HR report by dubious rights group

THE Philippine government, thru Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) secretary, Martin Marfori Andanar, firmly rejected a report released by a dubious international human rights organization that again placed the country’s human rights situation in an ugly light.

Branding the report by ‘InvestigatePH’ as “malicious,” Andanar informed the public that the group “does not represent any credible global or regional institution, and its claims of any authority or credibility to report on the Philippines must be rejected.”

“It is a group of parties that is weaponizing human rights against the Philippines, driven by a self-serving political agenda,” the official added.

Andanar’s observation was right on target. The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), which immediately came to the group’s defense, bared in its article (Investigate PH says ‘malice’ is with Andanar’s remarks on rights abuses report,’ March 18, 2021), that the group’s formation only last January was after the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Commission) “did not heed calls to investigate rights abuses in the Philippines.”

“UNHRC had disappointed some sectors as it instead adopted a resolution compelling member-states to extend technical assistance to the Philippines in the conduct of its own probe on killings and other abuses,” the article bared further.

Not surprisingly, the group’s report, finished in a period of less than two months, was immediately sent to the UNHRC in an obvious effort to change the UN body’s position not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs and instead offer the body’s “technical assistance” to the Philippines in addressing human rights issues.

“We ask InvestigatePH and those concerned to follow the proper step of assisting parties to raise cases and concerns, if substantiated, within these institutions and processes,” Andanar said.

Seeing through this very clear and specific hatchet job against the Philippines, Andanar appealed to the group “to respect the fact that the Philippines is engaging sincerely in all UN mechanisms on human rights dialogue and cooperation.

“The country has functioning accountability mechanisms and rule of law and its authorities are competent to address allegations of impunity within national administrative and legal institutions and processes,” Andanar pointed out further.

One ‘Peter Murphy,’ who was identified in the PDI article as “PH coordinator,” boasted that those behind InvestigatePH are “leaders of global and national Christian church organizations,” including those from the World Council of Churches (WCC), which, on its own, has a checkered reputation.

Christopher Andrew, highly-acclaimed author of the New York Times’ best seller, ‘Sword and the Shield’ (Perseus Books Group, 1999) and which details the secret history of the KGB dating back to the Bolshevik Revolution, said the WCC has been heavily infiltrated and its activities later on directed by the KGB, especially during the Cold War years.

The KGB is the counterpart of the American CIA and the British MI6 during the Soviet era.

“We ask InvestigatePH and those concerned to follow the proper step of assisting parties to raise cases and concerns, if substantiated, within these institutions and processes,” Andanar said.

“It is easy to see InvestigatePH’s agenda to paint a dire picture of the human rights situation in the country, as an attempt to interfere in domestic politics and weigh in on issues ahead of national elections next year,” he added.

Andanar also called on Filipinos to reject the “dirty politics” being espoused by InvestigatePH and its allies in the local communist movement.

Pinoy Exposé learned that one lawmaker from Australia, Sen. Janice Rice, who is part of InvestigatePH, is closely associated with ‘Karapatan’ a suspected communist front organization that has resorted to the business of peddling alleged human rights violations in the country to the global community in exchange for donations.