Coalition for Philippine Human Rights Act Applauds House Passage of Amendment to Stop US Aid to Philippine National Police

Washington D.C.--On July 14, The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment prohibiting assistance to the Philippine National Police (PNP). 

The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), introduced by Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, mirrors language from the Philippine Human Rights Act, limiting security assistance to the Philippine National Police until a series of human rights requirements are met. Said requirements include that the Secretary of State and Defense, working with House Foreign Affairs and Congress and the Government of the Philippines, must certify that they have “investigated and successfully prosecuted members of the PNP who have violated human rights” and “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.” 

In introductory remarks on the House floor, Wild said U.S. tax dollars should not be used to supply weapons, training, and other forms of assistance to Philippine state security forces in light of their responsibility in far-reaching and violent human rights violations. 

“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 oppositions 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 place in the United States-Philippines relationship,” Wild said. 

While the amendments Rep. Wild introduced focus on the Philippines, they are a clear indication that U.S. legislators, and the public they represent, are questioning longstanding U.S. approaches to foreign policy where human rights abroad are sacrificed in the name of vague national security interests. As she explains:

“Those who oppose this amendment will claim that providing uncritical and unconditional assistance to the Philippines, regardless of the war its government is waging against its own population, is critical for our national security objective of countering China. But the need to counter the Chinese regime’s authoritarianism on the international stage is precisely why it’s so important that we maintain our credibility on human rights. It is why it is so vital that we do not undermine our own case for democracy and open ourselves up to charges of hypocrisy by supporting brutal regimes out of short term expediency.”

The amendment faced opposition from Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio, Chair of the U.S.-Philippines Friendship Caucus. Rep. Chabot raised the common refrain anticipated by Rep. Wild by claiming that the US-Philippines relationship served as a “geostrategic counterweight to China.” In a disturbing statement delivered on the House floor, Chabot said that he supported “the war on drugs,” arguing that he only opposes extrajudicial killings. He then went on to condemn the administration of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for its role in the extrajudicial killings but argued it was “in the past.” This condemnation proved more confusing than convincing by the fact that the U.S. - Philippines Friendship Caucus interfaced directly with the Duterte administration’s highest ranking officials through the end of Duterte’s presidency yet made no objections to the myriad human rights abuses committed at the time. Chabot encouraged continued U.S. military cooperation with current president Ferdianand Marcos Jr.  to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.

The Coalition for the Philippine Human Rights Act supports Rep. Wild’s amendments to the NDAA and welcomes their passage in the U.S. House. Representatives of coalition member organizations said the amendments will ensure that the Philippine National Police face accountability for human rights violations while reducing U.S. complicity in state terror in the Philippines. 

“This development is a huge step in recognizing and upholding human rights in the Philippines,” said Chrissi Fabro, external vice president of Kabataan (Youth) Alliance, an alliance of Filipino youth and student organizations in the U.S. “It brings to justice PNP, who are responsible for taking the lives of fellow Filipino youth and children, like Kian Delos Santos, by ensuring an investigation and prosecution for their crimes.” 

“What kind of friendship is upheld by looking the other way after the killing of 30,000 people?” said Tabitha Ponciano, Vice Chairperson of the Malaya Movement. 

Drew Miller, National Coordinator of ICHRP-US, followed “Friendship between the people of the United States and the Philippines is demonstrated by genuine acts of solidarity, like those being exemplified by Rep. Wild in her taking bold steps towards a more sensible U.S. - Philippines relationship.”

As the Coalition for the Philippines Human Rights Act, we see this as a historic and important step in human rights policy towards the Philippines. At the same time, we also see the need for the passage of legislation that further restricts aid to the Philippine military, and call on legislators to take bolder steps to support the Philippine Human Rights Act. 

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