"The visit of US Pres. Barack Obama to the Philippines, especially to address and hobnob with the Philippine military, is a reaffirmation of support for the Aquino government’s gross human rights violations,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said days before the US president sets foot on Philippine soil for a state visit. "Through its increasing funding for the Philippines military’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, the United States Government is equally responsible for the killings, abduction, arrest and detention, torture, and harassment of the Filipinos," Palabay said.
"The visit of US Pres. Barack Obama to the Philippines, especially to address and hobnob with the Philippine military, is a reaffirmation of support for the Aquino government’s gross human rights violations,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said days before the US president sets foot on Philippine soil for a state visit. "Through its increasing funding for the Philippines military’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, the United States Government is equally responsible for the killings, abduction, arrest and detention, torture, and harassment of the Filipinos," Palabay said.
Pres. Obama and Philippine President Aquino is set to sign the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement which gives US military troops wider access to Philippine military base and camps. "With this agreement, the Philippine government is already eager to get their side of the deal—more funding and equipment from the US to ‘modernize’ the Philippine military," Palabay said. "This means more weaponry, surveillance technologies and funds to arm paramilitaries to implement Oplan Bayanihan—the policy that perpetuates thousands of human rights violations in the Philippines," Palabay said.
"We call on the American people to pressure their government to rescind all military aid to the Philippines, as surely they do not want to be parties to the gross human rights violations of the US and Philippine governments. Instead, the US government should give that money to its citizens and provide them with adequate services and health care," Palabay added.
"With US funding of $507 million for Philippine military from 2001-2010, the human rights violations perpetrated by the Philippine army has been tremendous that it caught the attention of the international communities. This led to the cutting down of US military assistance to the Philippines," Palabay cited the article of Vanessa Lucas, chairperson of National Lawyers Guild Philippines Subcommittee on the Philippines, and Azadeh Shahshahani, President of the National Lawyers Guild. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/azadeh-shahshahani/us-aid-and-human-rights-v_b_4815877.html>
"In 2011, US military aid is cut to $11 million. On 2012, the US military aid rose to $30 million alongside with the increase of human rights violations in that year. 2012 ended with 129 extra judicial killings, 12 enforced disappearances, 79 cases of torture, 239 illegal arrests and detention and 30,259 victims of forced evacuation in militarized communities. This is within the first two years of implementation of Oplan Bayanihan, Aquino’s counterinsurgency program patterned from the US counter-insurgency guide," Palabay said.
"The violations continue and are escalating in an alarming rate with the help of the US military aid," Palabay said. "The lifting of the restrictions on US military aid financing this 2014, bringing the US Congress-approved military aid in the Philippines to US$50 million, came with a price – 21 extrajudicial killings in the first quarter of 2014, two victims of enforced disappearances, 61 illegal arrests and detention including that of peace consultants Benito Tiamzon, Wilma Austria-Tiamzon and 6 companions, and the massive forced evacuation of 1,300 Manobos of Talaingod town in Davao del Norte," Palabay said.
"With US military aid, impunity persists in the Philippines. The notorious human rights violator Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is still on the loose despite the two-years old arrest warrant against him. With the funding for high tech surveillance systems, it is virtually impossible not locate him unless the funding is also being used by the military to hide butchers like Palparan," Palabay said.
"With the US’ economic and geo-political interest in the Philippines, it will definitely invest on securing its possible ‘assets’ in our soil with the Philippine armed forces as its guards. And with the EDCA, the American military troops will serve as the guards’ supervisors," Palabay ended.###