Both houses of the United States congress each adopted recently a resolution to withhold the country’s military aid to the Philippines due to its unflattering record on protecting or more accurately, not protecting the Filipino citizens’ human rights.
The US House of Representatives passed House Resolution 3081 stating that the US$2-million Foreign Military Financing Program for the Philippines may not be released until three conditions have been met by the government of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The US Senate also adopted a similar resolution last October 26.
These include taking effective steps in implementing the recommendations of United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston on extrajudicial killings, summary and arbitrary executions; investigation and prosecution of military personnel who allegedly have violated human rights.
Philip Alston visited the Philippines in February 2007 and has recommended, among others, the elimination of extrajudicial killings in the counter-insurgency program of the Philippine government, the abolition of the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG), which was tasked with filing trumped-up charges against activists and the prosecution of human rights violators.
The US House resolution based on a digital copy shared by the office of Bayan Muna Representative Neri Javier Colmenares states too that the Philippine military institution must not have ‘a policy of, and are not engaging in, acts of intimidation or violence against members of legal organizations who advocate for human rights.’
In 2008, after a hearing by the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs regarding the human rights situation in the Philippines, the US Congress voted to set conditions for the release of the full amount of 2009 military aid. The recent resolution has the same set of conditions.
Colmenares who also chairs the National Union of Peoples Lawyers met on October 27 with officials from the US Department of State in Washington DC whose responsibility includes policy towards the Philippines, and they confirmed with him that the conditioned amount has in fact been withheld — and it was tied to the prosecution of human rights violators in the country including retired General Jovito “The Butcher” Palparan who now is a partylist representative.
Ironically though the department officials averred they failed to report to the US Congress that the Arroyo government had met the human rights conditions required for the release of the military aid.
But Colmenares countered that instead of heeding the conditions, the Arroyo government merely launched high-level lobbying efforts at the US Congress, led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Mrs. Arroyo’s Special Envoy Patricia Ann Paez and the Philippine Legislative Affairs Officer Ariel Penaranda, and Pres. Arroyo’ failure to investigate and prosecute Gen. Palparan defeated all their lobbying efforts.”
To date, not one perpetrator of extrajudicial killings has been prosecuted. Despite recommendations from Alston and other international organizations, summary executions continue with impunity. Even as the Arroyo government abolished the IALAG, activists continue to face fabricated charges.
The Arroyo government also paid no attention to the to the report submitted by the Philippine congress lower house’s human rights committee headed by Quezon Representative Lorenzo ‘Erin’ TaHada also in 2008. The committee’s investigation participated by the likes of Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teddy CasiHo, Gabriela’s Liza Maza and Nueva Ecija’s Edgardo Nonato Joson reported a clear military pattern of all the human rights cases they had investigated.
Colmenares also raised concerns on the progress of the US-Philippines Defense Reform Program, a large US funding for the modernization and reform of the AFP. The Philippines Defense Reform Program began in 2003 in cooperation with the US military and is funded, in part, by the US Congress.
Well, two million dollars is two million dollars, and it can be two years in a row, considering that the Arroyo government’s lack of action or non-action may indeed be borne from a state policy more than lack of political will.
The US House of Representatives passed House Resolution 3081 stating that the US$2-million Foreign Military Financing Program for the Philippines may not be released until three conditions have been met by the government of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The US Senate also adopted a similar resolution last October 26.
These include taking effective steps in implementing the recommendations of United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston on extrajudicial killings, summary and arbitrary executions; investigation and prosecution of military personnel who allegedly have violated human rights.
Philip Alston visited the Philippines in February 2007 and has recommended, among others, the elimination of extrajudicial killings in the counter-insurgency program of the Philippine government, the abolition of the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG), which was tasked with filing trumped-up charges against activists and the prosecution of human rights violators.
The US House resolution based on a digital copy shared by the office of Bayan Muna Representative Neri Javier Colmenares states too that the Philippine military institution must not have ‘a policy of, and are not engaging in, acts of intimidation or violence against members of legal organizations who advocate for human rights.’
In 2008, after a hearing by the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs regarding the human rights situation in the Philippines, the US Congress voted to set conditions for the release of the full amount of 2009 military aid. The recent resolution has the same set of conditions.
Colmenares who also chairs the National Union of Peoples Lawyers met on October 27 with officials from the US Department of State in Washington DC whose responsibility includes policy towards the Philippines, and they confirmed with him that the conditioned amount has in fact been withheld — and it was tied to the prosecution of human rights violators in the country including retired General Jovito “The Butcher” Palparan who now is a partylist representative.
Ironically though the department officials averred they failed to report to the US Congress that the Arroyo government had met the human rights conditions required for the release of the military aid.
But Colmenares countered that instead of heeding the conditions, the Arroyo government merely launched high-level lobbying efforts at the US Congress, led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Mrs. Arroyo’s Special Envoy Patricia Ann Paez and the Philippine Legislative Affairs Officer Ariel Penaranda, and Pres. Arroyo’ failure to investigate and prosecute Gen. Palparan defeated all their lobbying efforts.”
To date, not one perpetrator of extrajudicial killings has been prosecuted. Despite recommendations from Alston and other international organizations, summary executions continue with impunity. Even as the Arroyo government abolished the IALAG, activists continue to face fabricated charges.
The Arroyo government also paid no attention to the to the report submitted by the Philippine congress lower house’s human rights committee headed by Quezon Representative Lorenzo ‘Erin’ TaHada also in 2008. The committee’s investigation participated by the likes of Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teddy CasiHo, Gabriela’s Liza Maza and Nueva Ecija’s Edgardo Nonato Joson reported a clear military pattern of all the human rights cases they had investigated.
Colmenares also raised concerns on the progress of the US-Philippines Defense Reform Program, a large US funding for the modernization and reform of the AFP. The Philippines Defense Reform Program began in 2003 in cooperation with the US military and is funded, in part, by the US Congress.
Well, two million dollars is two million dollars, and it can be two years in a row, considering that the Arroyo government’s lack of action or non-action may indeed be borne from a state policy more than lack of political will.
