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Philippine’s new harassment law puts president in spotlight

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MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was on Tuesday accused of being the “most brazen violator” of a new law he approved that would penalise a wide range of harassment, from catcalling to wolf-whistling.


The 74-year-old president’s controversial remarks about women include numerous jokes about abuse and have incensed women’s rights activists, but have not dented his popular support at home.


On Monday, Duterte’s government released details of a law he has signed that would see groping, stalking, unwanted advances and homophobic comments criminalised.


Women’s rights campaigners said the law, which provides punishments that include fines and jail terms of up to six months, would be difficult to enforce if the president could not lead by example.


“It would be easy for others to violate (the law) if the president himself continuously utters misogynistic statements against women,” said Jelen Paclarin from the Philippine campaign group, the Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau.


“We can only wish that as the president of the Philippines, he will uphold the law and ensure that his cabinet members follow the same,” the executive director said.


The Gabriela Women’s Party, a political party that champions women’s rights, said the law was a landmark piece of legislation, but it “throws an ironic shade” on Duterte.


“He represents the single most brazen violator of the law’s intent with his staple macho-fascist remarks,” the party said on its official Twitter account.


“He is the chief propagator of a culture that degrades and objectifies women.” A spokesman for Duterte, however, said the president recognised there was a need for such law and would be the first to adhere to it.


“Since he is the chief enforcer of all laws of the Philippines, he will be the first one to obey the law,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told journalists, according to a transcript of the news briefing.


“When he cracks jokes, it was intended to make people laugh, never to offend.” The president, who enjoys high public approval ratings, has been in the spotlight for his attitude towards women since he became president in 2016.


He wolf-whistled at a female journalist during a nationally televised news conference in 2016, and joked about rape during a meeting with soldiers in 2017.


During an official visit to South Korea last year, he kissed a Filipino woman who had come out to support him, a move his critics denounced as a way of taunting them.


MULLS CUTTING ICELAND


TIES OVER UN PROBE


Duterte is considering severing ties with Iceland after it filed a resolution calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate thousands of killings under the government’s crackdown against illegal drugs.


Duterte has already publicly mocked Iceland over UN vote. “Iceland, what is Iceland’s problem? Just ice. That’s your problem. You have too much ice,” Duterte said on Friday. “They don’t understand the social, economic, political problems of the Philippines.”


The Duterte administration has rejected the resolution, which was adopted last week, for being biased and one-sided. — Reuters/dpa


“He [Duterte] is seriously considering cutting diplomatic ties with Iceland,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters.


“There are only about 2,000 Filipinos there and as far as we know,there are no trade relations between these two countries, except fish,” he added.


During its 41st session in Geneva on July 11, 18 of the 47 member states of the UN Human Rights Council voted in favour of the resolution filed by Iceland, which formally asked UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet to come up with a comprehensive report on the situation in the Philippines.


The resolution also urged the Philippine government to cooperate with the UN by facilitating country visits and “refraining from all acts of intimidation or retaliation.” Fourteen countries opposed the resolution and 15 abstained.


Since 2016, at least 6,600 suspected drug pushers and addicts have been killed in police operations under the government’s aggressive campaign against illegal drugs in the Philippines, according to official statistics.


In 2017, the Philippines withdrew from the International Criminal Court to protest what it alleged was a “well-orchestrated campaign... to crucify President Duterte and the Philippines” over the campaign against illegal drugs.


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