THE government should declare a top World Health Organization (WHO) official “persona non grata” for alleged racist comments against his Manila-based staff to protect and uphold the dignity of the Filipino people.

“Dr. Takeshi Kasai’s comments belittling and ridiculing Filipinos and those of other races whom he considered to be inferior are a further disgrace to the WHO, whose credibility has been waning ever since they fumbled the pandemic response,” said former Deputy Speaker Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano, who represented the First District of Ilocos Sur in the 18th Congress.

Savellano was referring to Dr. Kasai, WHO’s Regional Director in the Western Pacific who was recently fired from his Manila post for charges of racism and abusive behavior for his alleged racist comments “belittling and ridiculing Filipinos”. He was also accused him of fostering a toxic atmosphere and a “culture of systemic bullying” particularly against Filipinos and other Asia-Pacific nations.

“The Philippine government should always uphold and protect the dignity of its people. Why should we be home to an official who has abused our hospitality and insulted our people? We call on the Bureau on Immigrations to ban Dr. Takeshi Kasai from the Philippines and declare him persona non grata or an unwelcome person,” Savellano said.

Enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Convention for Diplomatic Relations, a persona non grata declaration refers to a foreign person whose entering or remaining in a certain country is prohibited by that country.

An Associated Press investigation unraveled documents and recordings of Dr. Kasai hurling derogatory remarks about staff based on their nationalities and blaming the COVID-19 surge in some countries on their “lack of capacity due to inferior culture, race and socio-economic level.”

WHO staffers interviewed by AP accused Dr. Kasai of repeatedly telling them in meetings that the insufficient COVID response was due to “a lack of sufficiently educated people in the Pacific.”

Dr. Kasai’s dismissal was only the first time a top-ranked regional official has been dismissed by the agency, despite multiple sexual abuse and misconduct allegations hounding WHO over the years.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocacy group Quit for Good, earlier expressed concerns that WHO’s “lack of transparency and ineptitude” and “horrible racism within its ranks” could emerge again once the WHO convenes the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) parties at the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP) in November, after repeatedly blocking people’s participation in previous meetings.

The FCTC is the global tobacco control treaty under the auspices of the WHO and governed by the COP, which is composed of representatives from all signatory-countries including the Philippines.

Dr. Mata, one of the leading voices on THR in the Philippines, underscored the WHO’s inconsistent stance on smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes like heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes which are regulated in the Philippines.

“The WHO found itself in the same situation two years ago when their credibility took a hit in the Philippines. They previously stated that e-cigarettes are equally as harmful as cigarettes, but they backtracked during a Congressional hearing when they admitted that e-cigarettes are less harmful,” Dr. Mata said.

Dr. Kasai’s leadership allegedly cultivated a fear of retaliation among staff, ultimately resulting in the resignation of 55 key officers. Staffers have said this led to a lack of cooperation among member-countries that may have led to a surge of COVID-19 within the region.

In addition, Kasai was accused of disrespecting WHO’s own pandemic guidelines by forcing employees to return to the office during Manila’s lockdown period.