Like Trump, Trudeau Hasn’t Publicly Criticized Philippine Drug War Deaths

After Donald Trump stayed quiet on the Philippines’ drug war that has killed thousands when meeting with the country’s president, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has so far followed suit while in the Philippines. Trudeau has been in the country for about two days, and so far, has not said anything publicly towards President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged human rights violations.

According to CBC News, a coalition of Filipino and Canadian activists have requested the prime minister call out “appalling” alleged human rights violations in the Philippines, a Southeast Asian country whose government has waged a bloody drug war killing its own citizens and leaving bodies strewn on city streets.

"This shocking number of killings is accompanied by what seems to be complete impunity for those responsible," the Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines wrote in a letter to Trudeau. "We are deeply troubled that the victims of this state-sponsored violence are predominantly from poor, vulnerable and marginalized sectors of Philippine society."

One of the group’s founders referenced Trudeau’s stop at popular fast-food chicken chain Jollibee in the Philippines during his visit saying, "Aside from getting chickenjoy, it's better for Mr. Trudeau to raise the extrajudicial killings,” in an interview with CBC News.

The drug war in the Philippines has left at least 7,000 dead since July 2016, according to Human Rights Watch, including people suspected of using drugs and/or struggling with addiction. (Some place the death toll even higher.) The slayings have been carried out by both police (in what the government calls “self-defence”) and vigilantes, according to Duterte’s aides.

Some of the most popular illicit drugs in the Philippines are cannabis and a form of meth known as “shabu.”

According to Harry Roque, Philippines Congress member, Trump “appeared sympathetic and did not have any official position on the matter but was merely nodding his head,” when the country’s drug problems were brought up. Trump has since spoken of his “great relationship” with Duterte. (Earlier this year, Trump had a phone call with Duterte in which he praised the country’s drug war.)

Canada has a significant Filipino diaspora population, with over half a million who identify as having Filipino origins living in the country.

Canada has had its own morbid issues related to drugs over the past few years. The opioid crisis, fueled by the proliferation of bootleg fentanyl, continues to claim thousands of lives every year in Canada. Trudeau has yet to declare a national public health emergency over the crisis, though Donald Trump did so stateside in October. He has also said he's "not there yet" in regards to legalizing and regulating drugs other than cannabis to address the country's poisoned substance supply.

"President Duterte's hostile rhetoric about human rights defenders, combined with his encouragement of extrajudicial killings and guarantees of impunity, has resulted in a serious deterioration in the situation," the human rights group that penned the letter to Trudeau said of the drug war in the Philippines. "We believe it is incumbent on the government of Canada to speak out more strongly against this violence."

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said that Canada has “serious concerns” about alleged human rights violations surrounding the Philippines’ drug war, but was unsure if Trudeau would have the opportunity to address the issue with Duterte one-on-one.

"This is not a bilateral trip to the Philippines—if we have the time, we'll raise this issue," she told media on Sunday.

If called out, it’s unlikely Duterte would accept such criticism.

“You want to ask a question, I'll give you an answer: Lay off. That is not your business. That is my business. I take care of my country, and I will nurture my country to health," Duterte said when asked by reporters last week how he would respond to critique by a foreign leader on domestic matters in the Philippines.

Of course, Duterte once called former US President Barack Obama a “son of a whore” over the suggestion the US would criticize his human rights record.

Trudeau is currently in Manila for the East Asia Summit, becoming the first sitting Canadian prime minister to attend.

Government officials suggested to Global News that “the Philippines have gone out on a limb” to give Trudeau the opportunity and that it is likely the reason for his silence on its human rights record.