US bill halts military aid to PH over rights issues

A bill has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives that would suspend security aid to the Philippines until the country’s military and police forces are held accountable for human rights violations.

Philippine human rights groups welcomed what they called international pressure on the Duterte administration for its “tyrannical” policies.

Malacañang called the proposal put forward by Democratic Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania a “very outlandish” suggestion that had a “very slim” chance of becoming law.

Wild and 23 other U.S. representatives, mostly Democrats, introduced House Bill No. 8313, the proposed Philippine Human Rights Act, on September 17 and gained support from various religious and civic groups in the United States.

A copy of the bill has not yet been uploaded to the US House of Representatives website, but a summary says the bill would “suspend the provision of security assistance to the Philippines until the Philippine government has made certain reforms to the armed forces. ” and police forces, and for other purposes “.

In his sponsorship speech, the video of which was played during a press conference Thursday, Wild criticized the “brutal regime” of President Duterte for using the new Anti-Terrorism Law “to intensify efforts aimed at [dissidents and political opponents]. “

Wild called the terrorism law “legislation that legitimizes [Mr. Duterte’s] practice of terror by the regime, marking and killing activists “.

“Let’s make it clear that [United States] will not participate in the repression. Let’s support the people of the Philippines, ”Wild said.

“I am proud to stand alongside so many religious and civil society organizations in defense of this legislation,” he said.

Conditions for restoration of aid

Communications Workers of America, a labor group and one of the organizations mentioned by Wild, said the bill sets out the conditions that the Philippine government must meet before security aid can be restored to the country: investigate and prosecute the military and police forces that have credibly violated human rights; withdraw the military from internal politics; establish the protection of the rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, small farmers, LGBTI activists and critics of the government; take steps to guarantee a judicial system capable of investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice soldiers and police officers who have committed human rights abuses; and fully comply with any and all audits or investigations related to the misuse of US security aid.

“That’s a very crazy suggestion,” said presidential spokesman Harry Roque, with a pun on Wild’s name.

“As in the Philippines, any congressman can present a measure proposal. But the chances of that proposed measure becoming law are slim. So we will let it be. That is the personal opinion of Congresswoman Susan Wild, ”said Roque.

He said the Palace was confident that the Trump administration “sees the importance of continued cooperation between the [United States] and the Philippines “.

Unfair

The military said it would be unfair for the United States to suspend security aid to the Philippines based on allegations of human rights violations.

Major General Edgard Arévalo vehemently denied the military’s involvement in human rights abuses.

“In many cases in the past, we have been solid, we have been emphatic about our position against the violation of human rights, that the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) have no record of any violation of human rights before and now,” Arevalo said. reporters.

The military press officer urged critics to “bring their evidence, their affairs proving such accusations so that due process is duly observed.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the Philippines would re-examine the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) if Wild’s proposal passes.

“It’s actually a big yes. If they pass a bill that suspends our security aid, what will the VFA mean? Sotto asked.

President Duterte ordered the termination of the VFA in February after the US government canceled the US visa of Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former chief of the national police who oversaw Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.

In June, however, the Philippine government suspended the termination of the military exercise agreement “in light of political and other developments in the region.”

Senator Panfilo Lacson, head of the Senate defense committee, said that US lawmakers would also have to take the VFA into account in their deliberations on Wild’s proposal.

We lose too

The United States also runs the risk of losing if it passes the bill that would cut military aid to the Philippines, its mutual defense ally, Lacson said in a statement.

If Wild’s bill passes, “it would not only be our loss, but theirs as well, considering that a large part of the security assistance that is being extended to the Philippines is used to combat terrorism, which knows no borders. nor times. And they know for a fact, ”Lacson said.

This is not the first time that US lawmakers have tried to pass legislation that would go after so-called facilitators of the Duterte administration’s brutal policies, including the war on drugs.

Earlier this year, the United States Senate passed a resolution calling for the release of Senator Leila de Lima and for the United States government to impose the sanctions outlined in the Global Magnitsky Act on the individuals involved in her arrest. and arrest for opening an investigation. on the alleged extrajudicial executions in the war on drugs of Mr. Duterte.

In March 2019, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives condemning the Duterte administration’s attacks on its political opponents.

In September of the same year, the San Francisco City Council passed a resolution condemning the attempted murder of environmental activist Brandon Lee. —REPORTS FROM KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING, CATHRINE GONZALES, JULIE M. AURELIO, NESTOR CORRALES, AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA

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