Cayetano warns: Ban on foreigners engaging in partisan politics not limited to those critical of gov’t

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday warned that the Philippines’ ban on foreigners engaging in partisan politics or demonstrations in the country is not limited to those critical of the government.

Speaking to members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, Cayetano said even those foreigners who will join rallies or advocate President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs will be banned or asked to leave the country.

“The policy is not to limit for those who are against government policy,” Cayetano said. “If a foreigner goes to the streets and says to the President to continue your drug war, we will also ask them to leave because it is not part of his political rights to do that.”

“But if you are a journalist here you are invited to be a journalist here so go ahead and ask the hard question. It really depends on the type of visa that is given to you.”

On Monday, immigration agents arrested Australian missionary Sister Patricia Fox at her home in Quezon City for alleged “illegal political activities” in the country. Fox was released after her lawyer presented a valid missionary visa and her passport.

The 71-year-old Australian nun’s arrest came a day after Giacomo Filibeck, a Socialist party official from the European Union, a critic of Duterte’s violent war on drugs, was denied entry and excluded by the Bureau of Immigration.

‘Undesirable aliens’

Cayetano maintained that there is nothing irregular with prohibiting undesirable aliens from entering the Philippines, saying this is practiced in other countries.

“In general, anyone - whether they are 12 years old 50 years old or 70 years old - if they are a foreigner and if they get involved in partisan political activities in the Philippines, then they are not welcome because it interferes with our political rights, with our right to self-determination,” he said. “In any country that is unacceptable.”

“Free discussions are available if there are forum or seminars,” he explained. “But if you have a rally outside or you are organizing people to rebel against the government and you are a foreigner, I’m sorry but that is not your right. That is your right in your country and I expect the same for myself.”

Duterte, who bristled at criticisms against his crackdown on illegal drugs, told his critics not to meddle with his domestic policies.

He also balked at allowing the United Nations to send a rapporteur to investigate the killings.

The US, a close ally of the Philippines, along with the European Union and the UN, has expressed concern on the wave of killings of drug suspects since Duterte came to power on June 30, 2016.

While they support the country’s campaign against illegal drugs, the EU, UN and the US maintained that due process and human rights must be observed by Philippine authorities in carrying out its operations. — RSJ, GMA News