US to Aquino: No convictions of extra-judicial killers, no $3-M defense aid

The Philippines should produce more extra-judicial killing convictions if it is to receive the $3-million defense assistance from the United States which it suspended three years ago due to Manila’s failure to account for the unexplained deaths, a senior State Department official said.

Washington welcomed the commitment by President Aquino to resolve the killings and noted that the pace of killings has declined, but Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said “trying and convicting perpetrators remains an ongoing challenge” for his government.

“Over the past years, some members of the security forces have been involved in politically-motivated murders,” Campbell said in his testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade on Feb. 7 in Washington.

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

His focus has been on going after his political foes and getting them charged and jailed using legal shortcuts.

None of his allies and business cronies has been charged by his government.

“You well know the United States’ longstanding advocacy for human rights and specifically the concerns we have had about extra-judicial killings,” Campbell said.

“As you are aware, the US Congress has withheld $3 million in Foreign Military Financing from the Philippines, pending progress toward accountability regarding these killings.”

killings.”

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 resource-rich South China Sea territories.

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

In December 2011, the Department of Justice filed charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention against retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, who is wanted for the disappearance of two students in 2006.

However, Palparan and one co-accused, Sgt Rizal Hilario, have evaded arrests, raising concerns that the military may be interfering in his case.

Palparan, who has a P1-million bounty for his capture, has denied allegations of involvement in unlawful killings, abduction and torture of communist rebels and militant activists.

Despite snail-paced court prosecutions, Campbell assured Manila of continued assistance from the US, saying it will “help build capacity and streamline these cases, which would help further advance accountability.”

He also said Washington is counting on Aquino, whose father, Benigno Jr., was victim of the country’s most infamous extra-judicial killing, to address the problem, and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, whom he described as a long-time, ardent advocate for human rights. –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune