DFA Statement on the Visit of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

04 August 2017

We welcome the visit of top US State Department Officials to the Philippines to participate in the ASEAN-related meetings and to also discuss with their Philippine counterparts at the sidelines a wide range of relevant issues including the security situation in Marawi, addressing the global threat of terrorism and, most importantly, increasing Philippine-US economic and people-to-people engagement. These discussions are all aimed at strengthening the old friendship between the two countries. As the US senior official said in her briefing, the Philippines is one of their oldest partners in the region and there are a lot of things included in our agenda.



We understand that it is part of their duty as government officials to talk about human rights, not only with the Philippines but with the rest of the world, because they are accountable to their Congress and their press as they advance their values and interests. We share the belief that no country has a perfect human rights situation. We welcome the opportunity to address their concerns and correct the perceptions they may have gleaned from exaggerated media reports.

The Philippines is the oldest democracy in Asia and respect for human rights is a shared valued especially with our treaty ally, the United States. Discussions on the issue of human rights are always included in our engagements with foreign governments, in particular with Western democracies. END