Senator Janet Rice holds a sign that reads: ‘Stop the human rights abuses’ as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addresses the Australian Parliament on Thursday. The Filipino leader largely received accolades except for those tirades that came from a noisy few like Rice, who claimed that corruption in the Philippines worsened under Marcos.
DAVID GRAY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Senator Robin Padilla has filed a resolution seeking to condemn the “disrespectful” actions of Australian Senator Janet Rice during the address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before the Australian Parliament last week.
In Senate Resolution No. 944 which he filed on Monday, Padilla also called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to declare Rice as persona non grata for her "unparliamentary behavior.”
“Resolved by the Senate, as it is hereby resolved, to condemn Australian Senator Janet Rice and to urge the Department of Foreign Affairs to declare her as persona non grata for her unparliamentary behavior during President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.'s address before the Australian Parliament in Canberra," the resolution read.
During Marcos’ speech last week, Rice, along with her fellow Greens senators, protested about the human rights abuses in the Philippines.
Rice, in particular, held up a placard that read “STOP HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.”
Immediately after, Rice was directed to leave the chamber for “disorderly behavior."
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Rice said the corruption in the Philippines under the administration of Marcos, is “getting worse.”
“There are hundreds of political prisoners, and ‘anti-terrorism’ laws are used as legal cover for extrajudicial killings,” she said.
“Yet the Australian Government invited him to address the Parliament today. Shame,” she added.