Philippines slams US human rights report as 'baseless'

The Philippines on Friday demanded the United States to provide details of human rights abuses allegedly committed by Philippine security forces, slamming its human rights report for churning out baseless allegations.

"We question the (U.S.) State Department's report of abuses by security forces," Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement. "We challenge it to provide us with details so our Commission on Human Rights, a constitutional and independent body, can verify them."

"Absent these data, the accusations are nothing but innuendos and witch hunt. At worst, the state has become a gullible victim of black propaganda," Lorenzana added.

Lorenzana issued the statement in the wake of U.S. State Department 2021 country reports on human rights practices which noted "credible reports that members of the security forces committed numerous abuses" such as "unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings." (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )