Thank you, Mr. President. 

The Philippines will join consensus on the resolution.

The Philippine Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.

We affirm that the Special Procedures has an important role to play in assisting States fulfil their human rights obligations. Efforts or attempts to use the Special Procedures, such as the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, for politicized purposes, run counter to the objective of assisting the efforts of states in upholding the primacy of rule of law and strengthening accountability institutions.

We believe that there should be coherence in our purpose and efforts in the Council, and great care must be exercised to ensure that one mandate is not pursued at the expense of principles underpinning the very institutions built to promote and protect human rights.

In this regard, we are of the view that the Working Group should conduct its work with necessary balance and objectivity, giving due regard to the independence and impartiality of the judicial processes which apply to all citizens, and the fact that respect for the rule of law requires that the judicial processes be free from interference, improper influence, inducement or pressure, whether direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason.

On OP14, we wish to state our view that the Human Rights Council is not the appropriate forum for pursuing a study on arbitrary detention related to drug policies on the basis of a recommendation that is figuring in the UNGASS outcome document of April 2016.

Thank you, Mr. President. END.