MALAYBALAY CITY – The United States Senate has been asked to retain key provisions from past legislation restricting military funding to the Philippines due to the alleged failure of the Aqui-no administration to curb abuses committed by security forces.
In a joint Letter dated July 1, 2015 to Senator Lindsey Graham of the Senate appropriations committee, 18 leaders of different chur-ches and advocacy groups said “extrajudicial killings and other violent abuses implicating members of the security forces remain a serious problem” and “the Philippines’ response so far has been insufficient”.
The signatories said that in the context of counter-insurgency operations against the New People’s Army, “members of the armed forces and paramilitary forces have been responsible for numerous unlawful attacks on activists, human rights defenders, priests and other church workers, and labor organizers”.
“In recent years, environmental activists and tribal leaders have also been targets of assault,” they added. The signatories acknowledged too that the NPA has also been accused of serious abuses. The letter said that outside of the context of counter-insurgency, “security force personnel have also been responsible for killings of politicians and political wor-kers involved in local disputes and journalists reporting on corruption and other criminality.”
Since 2008, the US has imposed a restriction on foreign military financing to the Philippines because of its military’s alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings. The most recent restriction places limits on assistance to the Philippine Army while allowing assistance to the Navy, according to the letter.
But the signatories noted that these limits can be lifted if the Secretary of State certifies that the Philippine government is achieving sufficient progress on addressing extrajudicial killings.
They said the restriction has only been partially effective noting the prosecution of “a small number of suspected perpetrators,” including retired Army general Jovito Palparan, who was accused in several enforced disappearances in 2006. (Minda News)
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