HRW ‘aghast’ at conduct of House probe into Bilibid drugs

MANILA, Philippines – An international human rights group has called out Philippine lawmakers for the conduct of the House inquiry into the alleged proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison.

Phelim Kine, Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, said on Wednesday, September 21, that the conduct of the congressional inquiry violated the “privacy and rights of a sitting legislator.”

Kine was referring to the public disclosure of Senator Leila de Lima’s personal details – her mobile phone number and home address – made by convicts and other witnesses who testified at the hearing that was broadcast live on national television and radio, and also live streamed online.

“We are aghast that the lawmakers presiding over the hearing, who are political allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, conducted it in a way that grossly violates the privacy and the rights of a sitting legislator. Her fellow legislators in both houses of Congress should denounce this attempt to silence and intimidate her,” he said in a statement.

Kine noted that since the public disclosure of De Lima’s phone number, the neophyte senator said that she had received threatening text messages and phone calls.

“Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned about the implications to the security and safety of Senator de Lima posed by the public disclosure of her personal contact information and home address,” he said.

De Lima is the primary subject of a House inquiry into the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison when she was justice secretary.

She was ousted as chair of the Senate committee on justice as she led an inquiry into the spate of extrajudicial killings linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. De Lima had linked her ouster to the Senate probe that she had initiated.  – Rappler.com