Last May 23, the European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, DLSU Office of Student Leadership, Involvement, Formation, and Empowerment, and DLSU University Student Government (USG) jointly organized the National YoEUth Debate on Human Rights in Business and Economic Freedom held at The Verdure of the Henry Sy Sr. Hall.
The debate focused on the following issues: the impact of death penalty in the business environment, relationship between human rights and business, and the prioritization of the war on drugs over free trade in the Philippines.
Representatives from universities around the Philippines participated in the debate. The panel consisted of guests from the European Embassies in Manila and representatives from the DLSU USG and DLSU Debate Society. Meanwhile, a series of welcoming remarks were delivered by DLSU President Br. Raymundo Suplido FSC, Head of the EU Delegation to the Philippines Franz Jessen, and Senator Francis Pangilinan.
The first round of the debate discussed the effect of death penalty among businesses in the Philippines. The government position claimed the need for the death penalty as adherence to the working class’ call for action, mainly for actions against illegal drugs. The opposition then argued that the death penalty implies a negative image on foreign business opportunities as it is against the morals of foreign communities, such as the EU. The opposition also discussed the decrease of investor confidence for fear of the safety of their businesses.
The second round of the debate discussed the relationship between human rights and business. The government position discussed the need for the identification of countries with good and bad human rights practices, and the need for improvement on the status of human rights in the Philippines. In the opposition side, the team discussed the negative impacts by giving opportunities to countries with indecent human rights through taxing fees and the like.
During the last round of the debate, the teams discussed the war on drugs and free trade, wherein both positions agreed that the government’s war on drugs must not be prioritized over free trade. Moreover, both teams claimed that if not given enough attention, the war on drugs might lead to negative implications in the Philippine economy.
The National YoEUth Debate was followed by the Asian Parliamentary Debate, which focused on the respect for human rights in free trade. At the end, University of the Philippines Diliman student Antonio Miguel Ventura was awarded as the best speaker in the Town Hall Debate.
