Philippine Human Rights Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3884 To suspend the provision of security assistance to the Philippines until the Government of the Philippines has made certain reforms to the military and police forces, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 14, 2021 Ms. WILD (for herself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. RUSH, Mr. POCAN, Ms. OMAR, Ms. TITUS, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Ms. PORTER, Ms. MENG, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Fi- nancial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To suspend the provision of security assistance to the Phil- ippines until the Government of the Philippines has made certain reforms to the military and police forces, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Philippine Human 4 Rights Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3884 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The U.S. State Department’s 2020 Human 3 Rights Report on the Philippines states ‘‘There were 4 numerous reports of government security agencies 5 and their informal allies committed arbitrary or un- 6 lawful killings in connection with the government di- 7 rected campaign against illegal drugs.’’. The Report 8 goes on to state, ‘‘Government mechanisms to inves- 9 tigate and punish abuse and corruption in the secu- 10 rity forces were poorly resourced and remained 11 largely ineffective’’. The United Nations Office of 12 the High Commissioner on Human Rights in its an- 13 nual report for the 44th Session of the Human 14 Rights Council concluded that there is ‘‘long-stand- 15 ing overemphasis on public order and national secu- 16 rity at the expense of human rights has become 17 more acute in recent years, and there are concerns 18 that the vilification of dissent is being increasingly 19 institutionalized and normalized in ways that will be 20 very difficult to reverse;’’. 21 (2) The United States continues to provide sup- 22 port via security assistance to the administration of 23 Philippines President Duterte, whose brutal Drug 24 War and other campaigns have taken the lives of 25 over 30,000 urban poor, peasants, workers, indige- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3884 IH nous and environmental activists as well as human 1 rights defenders, religious leaders, and peace advo- 2 cates. 3 (3) Government agencies of the Philippines re- 4 port 4,948 suspected drug users and dealers, includ- 5 ing 60 children, died during police operations from 6 July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2018, and according 7 to Human Rights Watch, the Philippine National 8 Police (PNP) have reported 22,983 deaths remain 9 classified as ‘‘homicides under investigation’’ since 10 the Drug War began. 11 (4) As of December 2020, the Alliance for Ad- 12 vancement of People’s Rights (‘‘Karapatan’’) has 13 documented 376 extrajudicial political killings, 488 14 victims of attempted politically motivated killings, 15 222 victims of torture, around 3,600 victims of ille- 16 gal arrests, over 100,000 victims of threats and har- 17 assments, and nearly half a million internal refugees 18 under the Duterte administration. 19 (5) Duterte has blatantly targeted and publicly 20 advocated for the killing of faith leaders. Catholic 21 Bishops, priests, pastors, and laity have been threat- 22 ened, intimidated, harassed and murdered for speak- 23 ing out against extra-judicial killings and the war on 24 drugs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3884 IH (6) Duterte has also abused his office by tar- 1 geting critics and political opponents for intimida- 2 tion and elimination. Since Duterte took office, over 3 30 labor leaders have been murdered and 3 have 4 been jailed as political prisoners, over 25 mayors 5 and vice mayors have been assassinated, and Sen- 6 ator Leila De Lima who has been a staunch critic 7 of the drug war killings having been detained for 8 over 4 years. 9 (7) The international NGO Global Witness has 10 declared the Philippines to be the deadliest country 11 in the world for defenders of human rights, the envi- 12 ronment, and natural resources, with 30 environ- 13 mentalists, 54 indigenous people, and 207 farmers 14 and peasants extrajudicially killed since Duterte 15 took office in 2016. Included in the targeting of en- 16 vironmental activists was American citizen, Brandon 17 Lee, who was subjected to an assassination attempt 18 on August 6, 2019. Brandon has been subjected to 19 repeated threats and harassment by the Philippine 20 military due to his advocacy relating to the land and 21 rights of indigenous people in Ifugao province and 22 the surrounding Cordillera region of the Philippines. 23 While Brandon Lee survived the attack, he has been 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3884 IH left paralyzed and his assailants have not been 1 brought to justice. 2 (8) It is widely recognized that the Duterte ad- 3 ministration silences dissent and the press. The 4 State Department’s 2019 Report states, ‘‘Govern- 5 ment harassment of some media outlets occurred, 6 however, and polls suggested many Filipinos con- 7 sider it dangerous to publish information critical of 8 the administration.’’. In May 2020, ABS-CBN, one 9 of the Philippines’ two major sources of news, and 10 an occasional critic of Duterte’s policies, was forced 11 off air due to the denial of a franchise license by the 12 Congress of the Philippines, at the behest of the 13 Duterte administration. Similarly, Maria Ressa, a 14 vocal critic of the Duterte administration, Times 15 Magazine’s Person of the Year 2018 recipient, and 16 founder of the digital news site Rappler was con- 17 victed of cyber libel in June 2020. 18 (9) On July 3, 2020 the Anti-Terrorism Act of 19 the Philippines was passed into law. While pur- 20 porting to counter terrorism, the bill rolls back many 21 civil liberties by lessening requirements for judicial 22 warrants, allows for extended pre-trial detention, 23 and allows for the prosecution of conduct that is 24 considered protected political speech. The Anti-Ter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3884 IH rorism Act is viewed by many as a threat to Free- 1 dom of Speech in the Philippines and yet another 2 tool the Duterte administration will use to silence 3 critics and political rivals. Representative Jan Scha- 4 kowsky, along with 49 other members of the U.S. 5 Congress, urged the government of the Philippines 6 to repeal ‘‘this repressive legislation’’. 7 (10) The practice of ‘‘red-tagging’’, wherein the 8 government labels activists, critics, and non-govern- 9 mental organizations as terrorists, has been growing 10 in the Philippines from 2020 to 2021. This tactic is 11 used to isolate individuals or groups and, in many 12 cases, mark them for harassment or assassination by 13 Philippines security or paramilitary forces. 14 (11) On March 7, 2021, the Armed Forces of 15 the Philippines (AFP) and Philippines National Po- 16 lice (PNP) carried out a series of joint operations 17 across Calabarzon. The operations led to the murder 18 of nine activists and the arrest of six others. The 19 victims were members of progressive organizations 20 that advocated around issues of labor, land and in- 21 digenous rights, environmental protections, and 22 housing rights for the urban poor. The Philippine 23 government claims that it carried out the raids in 24 Calabarzon to execute valid search warrants for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3884 IH weapons and that the killings only resulted from the 1 victims resisting arrest. This claim has been met 2 with extreme skepticism due to the government’s 3 history of fabricating evidence and ‘‘red-tagging’’ 4 progressive groups and activists. Further suspicion 5 was cast on the allegations of resisting arrest when 6 family members of the victims were prohibited by 7 the PNP and AFP from collecting the victim’s bod- 8 ies. Following the attacks in Calabarzon, Duterte’s 9 spokesperson endorsed the killings of the activists 10 and security forces began to surveil and harass 11 human rights groups that are investigating the 12 killings. 13 (12) The United States continues to arm state 14 security forces of the Philippines. Despite clear doc- 15 umentation of abuses and international condemna- 16 tion, in April 2020, the United States announced a 17 pair of arms sales totaling $2,000,000,000 for items 18 including hellfire missiles and attack helicopters. In 19 July 2020, the United States announced an addi- 20 tional sale of $126,000,000 worth of assault boats 21 and armaments. 22 SEC. 3. SUSPENSION OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE. 23 (a) SUSPENSION OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—No 24 Federal funds are authorized to be appropriated or other- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3884 IH wise made available to provide assistance for the police 1 or military of the Philippines, including assistance in the 2 form of equipment or training, until the date described 3 in subsection (d). 4 (b) LOANS FROM MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT 5 BANKS.—The President shall instruct United States rep- 6 resentatives at multilateral development banks to vote 7 against providing any loans to the police or military of 8 the Philippines. 9 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspectors 11 General of the Department of State and Department of 12 Defense shall jointly submit to the Committee on Foreign 13 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Com- 14 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that— 15 (1) specifies all forms of security assistance or 16 loans made available to the Philippine National Po- 17 lice or the armed forces of the Philippines, including 18 any organizations or individuals operating with the 19 authority of the Philippine National Police or the 20 armed forces of the Philippines, by the United 21 States or by multilateral development banks during 22 the period beginning January 1, 2016, and ending 23 on the date of the submission of the report; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3884 IH (2) contains all reports generated by recipients 1 of United States security assistance or loans from 2 multilateral development banks to the Philippines 3 with respect to the use, investment, or transfer of 4 such assistance or loans; and 5 (3) details any and all misuses of security as- 6 sistance and loans during the period beginning Jan- 7 uary 1, 2016, and ending on the date of the submis- 8 sion of the report by the Philippine National Police, 9 the armed forces of the Philippines, or any affiliated 10 groups or individuals, such as extrajudicial killings, 11 intimidation of political opponents, illegal sales 12 under Philippine or international law, or misappro- 13 priation. 14 (d) CONDITIONS FOR LIFTING SUSPENSION OF AS- 15 SISTANCE.—The suspension of security assistance under 16 subsection (a) shall terminate on the date on which the 17 Secretary of State certifies to the Committee on Foreign 18 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Com- 19 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that the Gov- 20 ernment of the Philippines has— 21 (1) investigated and successfully prosecuted 22 members of military and police forces who have vio- 23 lated human rights, ensured that the military and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3884 IH police cooperated in such cases, and affirmed that 1 such violations have ceased; 2 (2) withdrawn the military from involvement in 3 domestic policing activities, in accordance with the 4 Philippine Constitution, and ensured that all domes- 5 tic police functions are separated from the military 6 chain of command and are instead directly respon- 7 sible to civilian authorities; 8 (3) established that it effectively protects the 9 rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights 10 defenders, critics of the government, faith and reli- 11 gious leaders, and other civil society activists to op- 12 erate without interference; 13 (4) taken effective steps to guarantee a judicial 14 system that is capable of investigating, prosecuting, 15 and bringing to justice members of the police and 16 military who have committed human rights abuses; 17 and 18 (5) fully complied with domestic and United 19 States audits and investigations regarding the im- 20 proper use of prior security assistance. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3884.IH H3884 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS