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Palace denounces US report identifying Duterte as threat to democracy

The Malacanang denounced the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community which identified Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as a threat to democracy and human rights.

The US Intelligence Community is a federation of 16 government agencies that conduct intelligence to support the foreign policy and national security of the United States of America.
US National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats released the unclassified report on February 12, which is available online.

“In the Philippines, President Duterte will continue to wage his signature campaign against drugs, corruption, and crime. Duterte has suggested he could suspend the Constitution, declare a ‘revolutionary government,’ and impose nationwide martial law,” the report stated.

The Philippines is also identified as one of the governments that utilize social media to spread propaganda, shape public opinion, and counter criticisms.

“We note that more governments are using propaganda and misinformation in social media to influence foreign and domestic audiences,” the report stated.

The US Intelligence Community predicts that democracy in Southeast Asia will continue to weaken as “Autocratic tendencies deepen in some regimes and rampant corruption and cronyism undermine democratic values” that are present in the governments of the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand.

In the first months of his term, Duterte blatantly criticized the United States while inclining to strengthen ties with China and Russia that are rivals of the United States in global geopolitics.

As a response, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. disproved the report, saying the chief executive observes the rule of law.

“Well I don’t think that’s true. He’s a lawyer. He knows the law. He wants to uphold the rule of law. He knows about the bill of rights.,” Roque said in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Roque, a known human rights lawyer, added that he would not have joined the Duterte Administration if the President was a threat to human rights.

The Palace official also said Malacañang takes the US intelligence report “very seriously” since it came from the intelligence community.

“This is something that we have taken very seriously. It’s from the intelligence community. It’s not even coming from the State Department, and it’s something that the president, of course, will take seriously as well,” he said.

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