The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Philippines.
The text adopted in plenary had been tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA and EFDD groups.
On 2 September 2016 a bomb attack, responsibility for which was claimed by Abu Sayyaf and affiliates, on a market in the city of Davao left at least 14 people dead and 70 wounded. Following the attack, the Philippine Government declared a ‘state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao’.
Parliament strongly condemned the attack and urged all states to cooperate actively with the Government of the Philippines and all other relevant authorities in this regard.
It strongly condemned drug trafficking and drug abuse in the Philippines while stressing that illegal drugs are a threat to young people in the Philippines and one of the most serious problems in society.
Conscious of the fact that in the Philippines millions of people are negatively affected by the high level of drug addiction and its consequences, Members are concerned at the extraordinarily high numbers killed during police operations and by vigilante groups in the context of an intensified anti-crime and anti-drug campaign targeting drug dealers and users.
They welcomed the government’s intention to reduce the high levels of crime and corruption in the country, but invited the government to adopt specific, comprehensive policies and programmes that should also include measures aimed at prevention and rehabilitation, without an exclusive focus on violent repression.
In this regard, they stressed that responses to the illicit drug trade must be carried out in full compliance with national and international obligations.
Parliament welcomed President Duterte’s commitment to drug rehabilitation programmes, and called for the EU to support the government in its efforts.
Death penalty: Parliament urged the Philippine Congress to abstain from reintroducing the death penalty (abolished in 1987 in this country). It noted that, according to all empirical evidence, the death penalty does not reduce drug delinquency.
Lastly, Parliament urged the EU to use all available instruments to assist the Government of the Philippines in respecting its international human rights obligations, notably through the Framework Agreement.