NSC: Amnesty International report ‘misleading’

MANILA, Philippines — The National Security Council (NSC) slammed Amnesty International (AI) yesterday for its recent report accusing the Marcos administration of stifling dissent and freedom of expression in the Philippines.

Calling the report one-sided and misleading, the NSC said AI failed to account for the administration’s efforts to protect freedom of speech and of the press.

“We take very strong exception to the one-sided, misleading and baseless report of Amnesty International for making rash judgments of the Marcos Jr. administration so far removed from reality. Freedom of expression in the Philippines is constitutionally protected and we can see that in the robust and healthy traditional and social media environment, where opinions are expressed freely every single day,” NSC assistant director general Jonathan Malaya said.

“AI did not even account for the side of the Philippine government before it released its report. The National Security Council should have been given the opportunity to rebut each of their so-called findings before this was released to the public. This only fuels speculation that the report is more for propaganda purposes to vilify the state rather than an honest assessment,” he added.

Malaya said the NSC would like to see the methodology AI used in coming out with their findings to see “what due diligence did they undertake to ensure that their respondents are unbiased and have no political agenda against the Marcos administration.”

“Remember, it’s election season. How did Al choose their respondents? The government and the public have the right to know,” he stressed, noting that the NSC is willing to sit down with AI and discuss the report if it was open to a constructive, fair and balanced engagement.

“Our doors are open to AI if they are open to listening to the side of the government. We are willing to investigate if there is probable cause,” he declared.

Malaya also took exception of the report’s claim that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) shares numerous posts and press statements on its Facebook page where many young activists are allegedly vilified or falsely accused of being