US lawmaker reintroduces bill to suspend US security aid to the Philippines
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 1:53 p.m.) — A bill that aims to suspend security assistance to the Philippines until perpetrators of human rights abuses in the ranks of the police and military are held accountable has been reintroduced in the US House of Representatives.
US. Rep. Susan Wild (Pennsylvania, 7th District) again filed the Philippine Human Rights Act (PHRA) before the US House earlier this month in commemoration of the second anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday Massacre" where raids across the Calabarzon region in 2021 left nine activists dead.
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The PHRA would suspend Washington’s security assistance to the Philippines until the government fully investigates and prosecutes any military or police personnel engaged in human rights abuses.
Should the the bill pass into law, Washington will require Manila to comply with a set of "basic human rights standards" before it can receive military aid.
"Those standards include the effective protection of labor leaders and activists, journalists, religious and faith leaders, and dissidents; a functioning judiciary capable of prosecuting members of police and military units; and the withdrawal of military forces from domestic policing activities, in accordance with the constitution of the Philippines," US Rep. Wild wrote in an opinion piece published on The Hill on March 10.
The bill is supported by multiple groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America, the Malaya Movement, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines - US, Migrante USA, among others. Wild also introduced the bill in 2020 and 2021.
READ: DOJ junks murder raps vs police officers over killing of labor leader in Bloody Sunday raids
Philippine Human Rights Act
Under the proposed bill, the US State Department and the US Department of Defense will also be required to submit a joint report to the Congressional Appropriations Committee that details all security assistance distributed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.
The bill also requires the recipients of US assistance to provide a report on how monetary contributions or any form of aid were used.
The suspension will only be lifted once the Philippine government will start introducing reforms in military and police involvement in domestic policy, once the country ensures the protection of rights, and once it has a judicial system “that is capable of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to justice members of the police and military who have committed human rights abuses.”
Last year, the US House already agreed to an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2023 that blocks any US State Department funding that will be sent to assist the PNP.
RELATED: US House agrees to block aid to PNP until PH meets basic human rights standards
The Philippines, however, remains to be one of the top recipients of military assistance of its decades-old treaty ally and former colonizer.
Warmer defense ties between Manila and Washington have been seen since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took office, with high-ranking visits and the go signal for four new sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, as the US continues to expand its presence and influence in the Indo-Pacific.
'No accountability'
Wild’s office, the Malaya Movement, the Kabataan Alliance, the International Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, and the Communications Workers of America commemorated the raids that claimed the lives of nine activists and indigenous community leaders earlier this month.
Despite the incident sparking public outrage, no one has been held accountable for the deaths of trade union leader Manny Asuncion; fisherfolk leaders Ariel and Chai Evangelista; urban poor activists Melvin Dasigao, Mark Lee Bacasno; and indigenous peasants Abner and Edward Esto, and Puroy and Randy dela Cruz two years after their murders.
READ: Widow of activist killed in 'Bloody Sunday' raid appeals junked murder rap vs cops
"While we seek elusive justice, more and more community leaders like Manny, and even ordinary citizens are caught in the Philippine military and police's crosshairs. More lives are put at risk and wasted due to the bloodlust of the military and police," widow Liezel Asuncion said in a statement on Tuesday.
US activist Brandon Lee was also a victim of an attempted assassination while in the Philippines. Lee had moved to the Philippines to help local communities advocate against mining projects, which threaten indigenous lands and would lead to the displacement of many.
Lee said no one has been held accountable for the attempt on his life, which left him partially paralyzed. "This is why our tax dollars should not fund Philippine military death squads," he said.
Despite multiple reports from the US State Department on the abuse and harassment of activist groups, journalists, and other sectors by Philippine government forces, aid from the US continues to pour in.
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US Rep. Wild notes that both the Trump and Biden administrations have provided a combined $1.14 billion in assistance to the Philippines in military equipment and training from 2014 to 2022.
"Our responsibility in this moment is clear: We must finally build a US-Philippines relationship that places the fundamental rights and dignity of the Filipino people at its center," she said.
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