A delegation of European legislators said the human rights situation in the Philippines is “better” under the current administration compared to the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“It is better than it was under President Duterte, I think that we can clearly state. We clearly had the impression that everyone was very willing to discuss human rights issue with us which has not been the case under the previous administration,” Hannah Neumann, vice president of the European Parliament (EP) Subcommittee on Human Rights, said in a press conference Friday.

Neumann was speaking in Makati on the last day of her delegation’s official Manila visit where they met with government officials and stakeholders to discuss developments on human rights.

In a statement, the delegation welcomed the Marcos administration’s commitment to engage on human rights with the international community, including UN mechanisms.

Neumann said they were encouraged by “promising first steps and announcements in this regard,” notably within the framework of the Universal Periodic Review.

“We also clearly note favorably the President’s commitment to change the focus of the so-called war on drug away from a punitive and deadly approach towards more prevention and rehabilitation, and welcomed the commitment not to reintroduce the death penalty,” she said.

Meanwhile, the delegation noted that they were “made aware of continuing extra judicial killings” and underscored the importance of investigating into each case.

“We further want to underline that the EU would be very happy to see the Philippines rejoining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) – to which all member states of the EU are signatories because it would reinforce the government’s stated commitment to fighting impunity,” Neumann said.

Neumann believes allowing the ICC to enter the country would contribute to the investigation of the more than 6,000 deaths reported during the previous administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.

“If there are 6,000 cases and the government is sincere with building accountability and investigating these, this means 6,000 cases need to be filed, witnesses have to be found, evidence need to be collected— 6,000 cases. And we’re are now, nine months into the new administration, 25 cases are being filed, three people are being sentenced,” she said.

The European lawmaker said the EU is “very willing” to extend assistance and technical expertise, noting that properly probing over 6,000 cases “will take basically forever” based on this current trajectory.

“For us, asking the ICC to come in is the perfect way to do it,” she said.

“These are 6,000 people who lost their lives, and they deserve that this is being properly investigated. And I think this is the discussion that we should have all together,” she said. Philippine News Agency