UPDATE 3-U.N. to probe Philippines drug war deaths

* Rights panel adopts first resolution on Philippines
* Govt says 6,600 killed in drugs war, activists say 27,000
* Duterte spokesman slams "grotesquely one-sided" resolution
* U.N. rights office to report findings in a year

(Adds Duterte spokesman paragraphs 8-10, 16)
By Stephanie Nebehay and Marina Depetris
GENEVA, July 11 (Reuters) - The U.N. Human Rights Council
voted on Thursday to set up an investigation into mass killings
during Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's so-called 'war on
drugs', a step that activists said was long overdue.
Duterte's government says police have killed about 6,600
people in shootouts with suspected drug dealers since he was
elected in 2016 on a platform of crushing crime. Activists say
the toll is at least 27,000.
The first-ever resolution on the Philippines, led by
Iceland, was adopted by a vote of 18 countries in favour and 14
against, including China, with 15 abstentions, including Japan.
"This is not just a step towards paying justice for the
thousands of families of victims of extrajudicial killings in
the Philippines, but it is also a message that we collectively
send out to those who have praised President Duterte," said
Ellecer "Budit" Carlos of the Manila-based rights group iDefend.
"This war on drugs, as we have repeatedly said, it's a sham
war," he told a news briefing in Geneva.
Philippine activists say tens of thousands are being killed
as police terrorise poor communities, using cursory drug "watch
lists" to identify suspected users or dealers, and executing
many in the guise of sting operations.
Police deny that, saying all their killings were in
self-defence.
Myca Ulpina, a 3-year-old killed on June 29 near Manila, was
among the latest and youngest known victims. Police say her
father, Renato, had used his daughter as a human shield.
PARTISAN'
Duterte's spokesman, Salvador Panelo, questioned the
validity of a resolution not backed by the majority of council
members, saying Filipinos overwhelmingly backed the president's
unique leadership and approach.
"The resolution is grotesquely one-sided, outrageously
narrow, and maliciously partisan," Panelo said in a lengthy
statement issued overnight.
"It reeks of nauseating politics completely devoid of
respect for the sovereignty of our country, even as it is bereft
of the gruesome realities of the drug menace."
The delegation from the Philippines, which is among the
council's 47 members, had lobbied hard against the resolution,
which asks national authorities to prevent extrajudicial
killings and cooperate with U.N. human rights boss Michelle
Bachelet, who is to report her findings in June 2020.
Philippines Ambassador Evan Garcia said the Duterte
administration was committed to upholding justice, adding, "We
will not tolerate any form of disrespect or acts of bad faith.
There will be consequences, far-reaching consequences."
Laila Matar of New York-based Human Rights Watch criticised
his comments.
"It was quite clear that they threatened consequences for
those who had supported the resolution, which in turn makes us
concerned for the many human rights defenders, civil society
activists and journalists on the ground," she told the briefing.
Duterte, asked by reporters in Manila whether he would allow
U.N. rights officials access to investigate, said, "Let them
state their purpose and I will review it."
If Duterte permitted the investigation and it proceeded
impartially, Panelo said, "We are certain its result will only
lead to the humiliation of the investigators, as well as of
Iceland and the 17 other nations."