Push Admin

Palace: US accusations of corruption under Duterte ‘baseless, recycled issues’

Article (news)

Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Human rights advocates commemorate the EDSA People Power Revolution in Quezon City on February 20, 2022, days before its anniversary on February 25. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/business/04/16/20220220-edsa-revolution-anniversary-md-6257.jpg"/><figcaption>Human rights advocates commemorate the EDSA People Power Revolution in Quezon City on February 20, 2022, days before its anniversary on February 25. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA – Malacañang on Saturday criticized the US State Department for raising issues of rampant corruption and human rights violations under President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s administration, saying these were baseless and needs validation. Acting Palace spokesperson Martin Andanar described the US agency&#x27;s 2021 human rights report on the Philippines as &quot;rehash of old and recycled issues&quot; made by the President&#x27;s &quot;perennial detractors.&quot; <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/29/22/false-rehash-palace-blasts-amnesty-international-over-report-on-ph-rights-woes">Palace asks Amnesty International to &#x27;sit down with government&#x27; to discuss rights issues</a></li></ul>&quot;We consider the reports utterly devoid of bases,&quot; Andanar said in a statement. &quot;The United States has once again displayed how infirmed its intelligence gathering is with its recent claim of &#x27;credible&#x27; reports of human rights violations by the Philippine government.&quot;The report, released on Tuesday, noted the government&#x27;s clamp down on journalists and free speech, threats to activists and rights organizations, a slow justice system, and &quot;high-level and widespread corruption&quot; fueled by nepotism under Duterte&#x27;s administration. &quot;Corruption through ... personal connections, and bribery continued to result in relative impunity for wealthy or influential offenders,&quot; the report read. The government&#x27;s probe on the alleged killings during drug war operations, the US State Department said, remain &quot;limited.&quot; The Department of Justice last October released its matrix on <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/20/21/doj-releases-matrix-on-52-cases-of-drug-war-deaths">52</a> out of hundreds of cases related to the country&#x27;s war on drugs.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/01/22/doj-to-review-more-drug-cases-invites-special-rapporteurs">Philippines to review more drug cases, invites special rapporteurs: justice dept</a></li></ul>&quot;There were numerous reports that government security agencies and their informal allies committed arbitrary or unlawful killings in connection with the government-directed campaign against illegal drugs,&quot; it said. &quot;The departmental investigation, while being conducted just for show according to many in civil society, released information pushing back against the PNP self-defense narrative.&quot;But these issues, especially on the killings made by law enforcement authorities, have been addressed, according to Duterte&#x27;s spokesman. Andanar urged the US agency to &quot;validate&quot; the reports reaching their agency. &quot;Triangulate the same with all other open and institutional sources, and put to work its political officers in the US embassy in the Philippines who can then properly verify the same with the Philippine government. Engaged verification is key in all this,&quot; he said.When Amnesty International raised similar issues in its rights <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/29/22/false-rehash-palace-blasts-amnesty-international-over-report-on-ph-rights-woes">report</a> released last month, Andanar also downplayed it as a &quot;mere false rehash.&quot; <div>WHAT ELSE DID THE US REPORT SAY?</div>The US State Department also raised concerns on the &quot;Bloody Sunday&quot; killings – or the deaths of 9 activists last year in Calabarzon, which came after Duterte ordered communist insurgents killed.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/08/21/task-force-on-ejks-to-probe-bloody-sunday-killings-of-activists">Task force on EJKs to probe &#x27;Bloody Sunday&#x27; killings of activists</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/07/21/bloody-sunday-rights-groups-call-for-investigation-into-killings-of-activists">&#x27;Bloody Sunday&#x27;: Rights groups call for investigation into killings of activists</a></li></ul>While the DOJ opened an investigation on the case, the killings have yet to be resolved, it said.&quot;As of July, however, human rights organizations reported no significant developments in the case and the completion of one crime scene investigation related to the AO35 committee’s work,&quot; noted the report.<div>WATCH</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1728660" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>Drug war operations also remained rampant between January to August 2021, as COVID-19 restrictions were partially eased in the country. Out of the 20,000 operations, 180 suspects were supposedly killed while more than 34,000 were arrested during the period, the US agency said, citing local data. A total of 18 minors, meanwhile, died during the anti-drug operations from January to June, it added, basing the information from a child welfare non-profit organization.Aside from these, the US State Department also raised the killings of lawyers, the poor state of the country&#x27;s major prisons, the alleged physical abuse and lack of resources in handling prisoners, and the arbitrary arrest among individuals.&quot;Opportunities for prisoner recreation, education, and self-improvement were rare ... Poor sanitation, inadequate ventilation, poor access to natural lighting, and a lack of potable water were chronic problems in detention and correctional facilities and contributed to health problems,&quot; the report said on the state of the country&#x27;s prisons.It also mentioned the attacks on ABS-CBN and Rappler, and the harassment that journalists face under the administration. ABS-CBN marked the first year of its shutdown in 2021. Government agencies cleared the network of any tax liabilities and labor violations. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/abscbn-shutdown-stories">STORIES FROM THE NIGHT OF THE ABS-CBN SHUTDOWN</a></li></ul>&quot;Journalists continued to face harassment and threats of violence, including from individual politicians, government authorities, and powerful private persons critical of their reporting,&quot; it said.Duterte, who is constitutionally limited for a 6-year presidency, will step down from office in June. The 77-year-old leader late last month said he has fulfilled all his campaign promises, which focused on law and order, and free education. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/26/22/duterte-says-he-has-fulfilled-his-campaign-promises">Duterte says he has fulfilled his campaign promises</a></li></ul>Duterte said he is uncertain what awaits him after his presidency, but said he no longer wants to work, that he is already fulfilled in life, and that all of his children are now established with their own political careers.

Martin Andanar described the US State Department’s 2021 human rights report on the Philippines as ‘rehash of old and recycled issues.’

Palace: US accusations of corruption under Duterte ‘baseless, recycled issues’

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

Palace: US accusations of corruption under Duterte ‘baseless, recycled issues’

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 16, 2022 03:15 PM PHT

Read More:

US State Department

2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

drug war

Malacanang

Duterte Malacanang

human rights

rights issues

Duterte human rights issues 2022

2021 report rights issues

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.