The United States House of Representatives have passed an amendment to its National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to limit the issuance of assistance to the Philippine National Police (PNP) due to alleged human rights violations.
The amendment to the NDAA was introduced by Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania and was passed on Thursday, July 14, according to the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).
The amendment limits the security assistance of the United States to the PNP “until a series of human rights requirements are met” by the Philippine government.
These include a certification from the US Secretary of State and Defense, working with the House Foreign Affairs and Congress as well as the Philippine government, that the latter has “investigated and successfully prosecuted members of the PNP who have violated human rights.”
It also states that the government must have “established that the PNP effectively protect the rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, critics of the government, faith and religious leaders, and other civil society activists.”
The PNP is the agency that led the bloody war on drugs of former President Duterte which, according to the government, has claimed more than 6,000 drug suspects from 2016 to mid 2022. However, rights groups estimate that around 20,000 to 30,000 people have been killed under the so-called drug war, including those slain by vigilantes.
“After an estimated 30,000 extrajudicial killings in the Philippines between 2016 and today, after the assassinations, arbitrary arrests, torture, and red-tagging of labor organizers and opposition leaders, after former President Duterte’s calls for assassinating politically engaged bishops, and after the Philippines has been named year after year by the International Trade Union Confederation as one of the world’s 10 most repressive countries for the labor movement and workers, the time is long overdue to begin putting some basic human rights guardrails in the United States-Philippines relationship,” Wild was quoted as saying by the ICHRP.
The ICHRP described the House decision as a “historic and important step in human rights policy towards the Philippines.”“Representatives of coalition member organizations said the amendments will ensure that the Philippine National Police face accountability for human rights violations while reducing US complicity in state terror in the Philippines,” it said.
The decision was a big setback for the PNP since US has been a steady partner of the national police force in improving its capabilities by donating equipment and various assets, offering trainings and subject matter expertise, and other forms of assistance which are worth multi-million to billion pesos over the past years.
Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao, PNP officer-in-charge, has yet to issue a statement on the US House’s decision as of this writing.
However, the PNP has repeatedly denied in the past that it was involved in state-sponsored murders of drug suspects and other forms of human rights violations as it insisted that all the drug operations were conducted within the bounds of the law.
Danao, in a press statement last June 13, said the PNP will sustain the relentless drug war under the present administration.
“The PNP welcomes the expression of strong commitment of the Marcos administration to continue the national campaign against illegal drugs within the framework of the law and with utmost respect for human rights, and with the focus on rehabilitation and socio-economic development,” Danao had said.