Sanders grandstanding, meddling–Andanar

Andanar reiterated that the Philippine government has no policy on state-sponsored killings. #MartinAndanar #BernieSanders

Democratic presidential hopeful, Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders speaks at the California Democratic Party 2019 Fall Endorsing Convention in Long Beach, California on 16 November 2019. (Photo by CHRIS CARLSON / POOL / AFP)

Malacañang on Sunday criticized United States Senator Bernie Sanders for his remarks on the alleged government abuses in the country based on the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) article.

“What we find abhorrent is that Senator Bernie Sanders and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) refuse to closely look at the facts at hand, and instead choose to make blanket statements that the Philippine government supposedly violates human rights,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.

“Senator Sanders is grandstanding on an issue he obviously does not know the details of, not to mention meddling in our national affairs, which he has no business over,” he added.

Andanar said Sanders’ comments comes after an ITUC article about the series of law enforcement operations on suspected communist terrorists in Bacolod City on 31 October.

“Firstly, the operations were peaceful and precise that no individuals were hurt. Authorities did not act rashly in any way and actually gathered actionable intel before conducting the raids in the offices of the organizations,” Andanar said.

“While there were several civilians captured, they were immediately released days after the operations.

Hence, the supposed “government abuse” that Sanders and ITUC claim is already false,” he said

The Palace official said stringent measures were undertaken during operations as they are a matter of serious national security.

“These are steps we have to take in order to erode any probabilities of communist armed conflicts and in the long run attain peace and prosperity among Filipinos,” Andanar said.

“This is the exact purpose of NTF-ELCAC operations and it is in line with the Duterte Administration’s efforts in curbing possible communist armed conflicts that may derail peace and stability in Negros,” Andanar said.

Andanar reiterated that the Philippine government has no policy on state-sponsored killings.

“The reality is that suspected drug abusers refuse to subject themselves to the police and resort to violence– resulting to unfortunate deaths on both sides,” Andanar said.

“There are instances where evidence shows that vigilantes and rival drug cartels were behind the killings. We also continue to dispel the 27,000 deaths that’s been floating around by human rights organizations,” he added.

Andanar said that it has already been studied that the 27,000 figure involves deaths not related to the drug war. The official figure he said is around 5,000.

“The Philippine government respects and is all for global human rights. It’s just that there are false narratives spread by those who want to bring the government down,” Andanar said.

“We urge all observers and critics to check their facts as some may fall victim to the lies peddled by communist terrorists–terrorists that have humanitarian organizations fronts who seek funding from other legitimate international institutions, only to be used for violence,” he said

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, meanwhile, said its a shameful attempt on the part of Senator Sanders to give information which he has not yet validated.