US $2-M aid ‘hostaged’ as impunity reigns under Aquino

The Aquino government must show stronger action in providing justice to human rights victims and addressing impunity by state security forces for it to receive the pending American military assistance withheld by Washington in 2009 due to the Philippines’ failure to account for the spate of extra-judicial killings.

American Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas said although the embassy was “en-couraged” by the pledge made by Pre-sident Aquino in his 2010 State of the Nation Address to curb the killings, he lamented that many murders continued under his watch.

In discussing the human rights condition in the Philippines with rights advocates on Oct. 21, Thomas cited the 2010 US Department of State Human Rights Report on the Philippines wherein assertions of cases of extra-judicial killings have occurred under the Aquino administration.

The report, Thomas said, expressed concern regarding the slow pace of investigations and prosecutions of past cases despite the $3.5-million grants given by Washington to the Philippine government and non-government organizations from 2007 to 2010 to strengthen their capacity to address human rights violations.

Almost two years into his presidency, Aquino’s government has yet to take sufficient steps to hold perpetrators of killings and other abuses accountable.

Thomas said the US Congress continues to withhold a portion of US assistance to the Philippine military “until the Philippine government meets certain conditions related to solving and prosecuting cases of extra-judicial killings.”

The amount of suspended defense assistance is said to be at least $2 million.

The assistance could be crucial to the government’s current efforts to upgrade the capability of its military in protecting its territorial sovereignty in the disputed oil-rich South China Sea.

China has laid claims even in some areas well-within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

The international community led by the United Nations, European Union and the United States have scored the Philippines’ dismal human rights record, particularly during the term of Aquino’s predecessor, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo.

Although extra-judicial killings have decreased in the last couple of years, reports of abuses and murder of left-wing activists have persisted.

Thomas assured Manila of continued assistance as he sought for a “renewed opportunity” under the Aquino administration “to combat extra-judicial killings and the associated culture of impunity.”

“The US government will continue to press for progress on addressing past cases and the ongoing problem of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines,” he said.

The Philippines remains the biggest recipient of US military aid in Asian region, receiving some $30 million annually in Foreign Military Financing, education and training as well as Excess Defense Articles. –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune