Akbayan Partylist Rep. Tom Villarin. INQUIRER.NET / CATHY MIRANDA
Opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives rejected on Tuesday the suggestion of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the Philippines to pull out of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin said the suggestion for the Philippine Congress to withdraw membership from the聽Geneva-based organization of parliamentarians would be a聽鈥渄iplomatic disaster鈥� and would 鈥渄erogate our standing in international bodies.鈥�
Villarin said the IPU had 鈥渧alid criticisms against the Philippine government.鈥�
Arroyo on Monday recommended the withdrawal of the Philippines鈥� membership to the IPU due to its alleged interference in the country鈥檚 judicial processes. Her call came after the IPU said it would probe the cases of detained-Sen. Leila de Lima and embattled-Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
READ: Arroyo to push PH withdrawal from IPU /
Earlier in March, then-Senate President Aquilino 鈥淜oko鈥� Pimentel III expressed dismay at the IPU鈥檚 insistence that the Senate to take a firm stance in favor of De Lima even after the Supreme Court had upheld her detention for drug charges.
He lamented that the IPU鈥檚 actions were tantamount to insulting Filipinos and not respecting our sovereignty.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 inimical to our country鈥檚 best interests to shun away from such collective body where all are equal. Rather than stand up to say we can do better, it shrinks from responsibility like a spoiled brat. Shame!鈥澛燰illarin added.
He also said responding to criticisms through threats of withdrawal from international bodies such as the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and now the IPU would only make President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies 鈥渓ook even worse than they actually are in the eyes of the international community.鈥�
Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate聽defended the IPU, saying it was not interfering with the judicial processes of the Philippines.
鈥淭he IPU is not interfering with our country鈥檚 judicial processes but is merely voicing out its observations and recommendations on reported attacks against parliamentarians in our country,鈥� he said in a statement.
鈥淒uring the case of the Batasan 6 and even the Makabayan 4, the IPU has lent their voice for the welfare of progressive lawmakers. The IPU鈥橲 voice should not be silenced; instead, this should be welcomed by parliamentarians,鈥� he added, expressing hopes that the Senate would not bow to the former president鈥檚 wishes.
ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio for his part said the IPU merely called out the House and Senate leadership 鈥渇or their failure to uphold the independence of Congress and protect the rights of opposition Senators De Lima and Trillanes from politically-motivated charges aimed at silencing critics of the Duterte regime.鈥�
鈥淣on-intervention in domestic affairs cannot be invoked when basic rights聽recognized by the international community are being violated with impunity,鈥� Tinio added.
The IPU also issued a resolution in March urging the 聽Senate to take steps in ensuring that De Lima fulfill her duties as a duly elected lawmaker by letting her participate in Senate deliberations. /cbb
READ: / IN THE KNOW: The Inter-Parliamentary Union