A/HRC/36/12 8. The situation of illegal drugs could only be understood by recognizing the relationship between illegal drugs, violent crime and poverty. The violence was associated with drug lords and drug suppliers. In respect of the government campaign against illegal drugs, “alternate facts” were being spread by critics and widely quoted by the media. The delegation sought to correct those “facts” by stating the following. Firstly, those critics had changed the definition of extrajudicial killings, thereby deceiving the public and the media into believing that there had been a sudden wave of State-sponsored extrajudicial killings. There had been a deliberate attempt to include all homicides related to the campaign against illegal drugs as extrajudicial killings and to say that they were State-sponsored, which was not true. Secondly, the 1.266 million drug pushers and users who had surrendered were being rehabilitated. Thirdly, during the six-year period prior to the Duterte administration, 93,197 drug operations had been conducted while barely 10 months into the Duterte administration, 53,503 such operations had been conducted. Fourthly, 64,917 drug-related arrests had been made. Fifthly, of the 9,432 homicide cases, 2,692 deaths had resulted from presumed legitimate law enforcement operations. While the increase in police operations had resulted in more people surrendering, there were also people who violently resisted arrest, which in turn led to more deaths. Although deaths arising from law enforcement operations were presumed to be legitimate, they were automatically investigated. 9. The Duterte administration had doubled the budget of the Commission on Human Rights. President Duterte had institutionalized Executive Order No. 2, also known as the “Freedom of information order”, something no other Philippine president had done, and installed a direct telephone line to the Office of the President for complaints from citizens. 10. The Government was in the process of drafting its human rights action plan for the next five years. A human rights-based approach to development would be implemented. 11. The Government supported the universal periodic review mechanism and the United Nations human rights system. A decision on which recommendations to accept would be taken against the backdrop of national challenges. 12. The universal periodic review was effective because the Human Rights Council had been successful in insulating it from polarization. While the special procedures of the Council were often effective, they sometimes did more harm than good. The delegation referred to a tweet by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, which suggested she was impartial and unfair. Invitations to special rapporteurs would be extended at an appropriate time, provided they proved their independence and willingness to engage in a constructive manner. 13. The Philippines was addressing a communist rebellion, unrest, a rebellion in the south, inequality and social injustice, control of the economy by the political elite and criminal and drug syndicates that acted with impunity. Terrorism was a national, regional and international threat. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 14. During the interactive dialogue, 95 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 15. Viet Nam welcomed the recent ratification of the Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 16. Yemen noted that the Philippines had signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and implemented human rights programmes for police officers and on the eradication of poverty. 17. Zambia welcomed the acceptance of several recommendations from the first and second cycles of the universal periodic review but noted that most of the recommendations had not been implemented. 3