EXECUTIVE Secretary Lucas Bersamin and United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan on Thursday, discussed "potential area or concern" regarding the human rights situation in the country.

Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) Executive Director Paul Gutierrez said Bersamin and Khan met in Malacañang.

Gutierrez did not provide further details but said the two officials talked about human rights concerns that the UN rapporteur raised.

UN RAPPORTEUR IN MALACAÑANG Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan meet in Malacañang on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Khan, who arrived last January 22, met with officials from different government agencies, including the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), to assess the Philippines' current state in ensuring rights to freedom of opinion and expression. She is expected to report her findings in a press conference on Friday, February 2, before leaving the country. PHOTO FROM PTFOMS

Khan arrived in the Philippines last January 22 and will be in the country until February 2 to assess the state of rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the country.

In an interview on Thursday, Gutierrez said Khan's visit proves the government is transparent about the country's human rights situation.

"We were able to show again our transparency, our openness, and our preparedness to have a dialogue with anyone," he said.

"We were able to show the true record and status of human rights and journalism in the country," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said Khan's visit will make the UN Human Rights Council realize that the situation in the Philippines contradicts the negative reports they have been receiving.

"She was surprised that 50 ... more than half of the media killings since 1987 — they did not know this in the UN, but those cases were already resolved," he said.

Gutierrez said the country's justice system "is strong and Ms. Khan appreciates it."

He said the UN official appreciated the government's collaborative effort to address human rights issues.

"The good thing we see here is that she acknowledges that our processes are working," he said.

"She only has a few observations that we know will eventually be addressed by the Philippines when she issues her recommendations," he added.

The meeting came amid reports that investigators from the International Criminal Court (ICC) had gathered enough evidence to file a case of crime against humanity against former president Rodrigo Duterte and other personalities linked to Duterte's drug war.

But Gutierrez said he believes "we have made that impression that the negative reports which have reached the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights are on the contrary."

Khan's visit, "hopefully, would serve as an eye opener to the United Nations that not everything being reported to the UN is correct or accurate and that our government has more credibility when it comes to resolving issues, especially with our justice system," he said.

Last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government "will not lift a finger to help" an ICC investigation.

The President said that while ICC officials "can come and visit the Philippines," authorities would ensure that "they do not come into contact with any agency of government."

In January last year, the ICC reopened its inquiry after it was suspended in November 2021. Last July, the ICC Appeals Chamber also denied the government's appeal against the resumption of the probe.

Last November, Marcos said the country's return to the fold of the international tribunal is "under study," although he anticipates problems over jurisdiction.

The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019 after the tribunal began a probe into the Duterte administration's controversial anti-drug campaign.

During her visit to the House of Representatives, Khan lauded proposed legislation such as the Human Rights Defenders Bill, the decriminalization of libel, and the Media Welfare Act.

Aside from her talks with lawmakers, Khan also met with officials from the National Privacy Commission, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Justice (DoJ), and other agencies.

"She also was even able to speak with different private civil society organizations. What's better is that she acknowledged that our processes work. She shared her observations, and we know that once she releases her recommendations, the Philippine government would respond accordingly," Gutierrez said.

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