Senator Imee Marcos (right) and UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan. (Photo from Senate Prib/AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos called UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan “meddlesome” after the latter recommended the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), which she said is already outdated.
“After a mere 10 days in the Philippines, during which she never visited the NTF barangays but only met a chosen few witnesses, she has the knowledge and the right to tell the Philippine government what to do?” Marcos lamented in a statement on Sunday.
“Not only are these foreigners meddlesome and out of their depth, but she has also threatened that the Philippines’ “ambitious” plan to lead the UN Commission on the Status of Women and obtain a seat on the UN Security Council depends on conforming with her “findings.” Why exactly did we invite her anyway?” Marcos added.
Last Friday, Khan said that the foundations of NTF-Elcac’s creation, through then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70, had changed already and had not taken into consideration the peace negotiations sought by the current administration with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
But Marcos said Khan’s call was “hardly surprising, given her long-standing Amnesty International bias,” saying that she believes “dismantling the NTF-ELCAC would be counter-productive, even dangerous.”
“Thousands of rebels have peacefully returned to the fold of the law. The government has practically won against the communist insurgency, with only about 1,800 rebels left, according to our military and police,” Marcos explained.
“It is important that we maintain the NTF-ELCAC’s presence and strengthen its mandate to continue the peaceful rehabilitation of rebel returnees,” Marcos added.
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