Condemning the Government of the Philippines for its continued detention of Senator Leila De Lima, calling for her immediate release, and for other purposes.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 233 Condemning the Government of the Philippines for its continued detention of Senator Leila De Lima, calling for her immediate release, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 14, 2019 Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. DOGGETT) submitted the following reso- lution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Condemning the Government of the Philippines for its con- tinued detention of Senator Leila De Lima, calling for her immediate release, and for other purposes. Whereas extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the Government of the Philippines as part of a Government-directed anti- drug campaign present the foremost human rights chal- lenge in the Philippines; Whereas the Department of State’s 2017 Human Rights Re- port notes numerous human rights concerns, including the persecution of human rights defenders and the deten- tion of political prisoners in the Philippines, stating, ‘‘The most significant human rights issues included: killings by security forces, vigilantes and others allegedly connected to the government, and by insurgents; torture VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR233.IH HR233 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 233 IH and abuse of prisoners and detainees by security forces; often harsh and life threatening prison conditions; warrantless arrests by security forces and cases of appar- ent government disregard for legal rights and due proc- ess; political prisoners; killings of and threats against journalists; official corruption and abuse of power; threats of violence against human rights activists; vio- lence against women; and forced labor.’’; Whereas, on February 23, 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Philippine Senator Leila De Lima for allega- tions related to drug trafficking, and as of February 28, 2019, Senator De Lima had been detained for 734 days. Whereas the charges brought against Senator De Lima fol- lowed a history of criticizing extrajudicial killings in the Philippines and the Rodrigo R. Duterte administration’s antidrug campaign, including— (1) in 2009, in her capacity as Chair of the Commis- sion on Human Rights, Senator De Lima investigated the alleged involvement of then-Mayor of Davao City Rodrigo R. Duterte in the extrajudicial killings executed by the so-called ‘‘Davao Death Squad’’; (2) on December 15, 2014, then-Secretary of Justice De Lima led a raid of the national penitentiary which re- sulted in the confiscation of drugs, firearms, and contra- band items and the extraction of 19 drug lords and high- profile inmates involved in the facility’s drug network; (3) on July 13, 2016, Senator De Lima, in her ca- pacity as Chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, filed Senate Resolution No. 9 calling for an investigation into extrajudicial killings and summary executions of suspected drug offenders arising from President Duterte’s ‘‘War on Drugs’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR233.IH HR233 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 233 IH (4) on August 22, 2016, Senator De Lima con- ducted Senate hearings during which alleged former death squad members detailed extrajudicial killings exe- cuted as part of the antidrug campaign and one member testified that Duterte participated in extrajudicial killings as mayor of Davao City; and (5) on August 2, 2016, and September 19, 2016, Senator De Lima delivered two privileged speeches on the Senate floor calling on President Duterte to end the killings; Whereas President Duterte vowed to publicly destroy Senator De Lima; Whereas the charges against Senator De Lima were sup- ported by testimony from inmates whose illegal activities were disrupted by her 2014 raid; Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Work- ing Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted an Opinion on August 24, 2018, finding several categories of arbitrary detention and concluding that, ‘‘Ms. De Lima’s political views and convictions are clearly at the centre of the present case and that the authorities have displayed an attitude towards her that can only be characterized as targeted and discriminatory. Indeed, she has been the target of partisan persecution and there is no explanation for this other than her exercise of the right to express such views and convictions as a human rights defender.’’; Whereas the Department of State’s 2017 Human Rights Re- port highlighted due process obstructions in the case of Senator De Lima, stating, ‘‘During the year prosecutors used a variety of legal tactics, including filing new and amending previous charges, to delay arraignment.’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR233.IH HR233 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 233 IH Whereas the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recommended that the Government of the Phil- ippines adopt certain measures, including— (1) the immediate release of Senator De Lima; (2) an independent investigation of the circumstan- ces surrounding the arbitrary detention; and (3) the provision of compensation and other repara- tions, including reinstatement to the positions from which she was ousted; Whereas, on July 20, 2017, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress held a hearing on The Human Rights Consequences of the War on Drugs in the Philippines, during which Human Rights Watch testified about the ‘‘relentless government cam- paign’’ against Senator De Lima ‘‘in evident response to her outspoken criticism of Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ and her calls for accountability’’; Whereas Amnesty International finds Senator De Lima’s de- tention to be based solely on her criticism of the Govern- ment, her political beliefs, and her peaceful defense of human rights, and considers her a Prisoner of Con- science; and Whereas nongovernmental organizations, human rights groups, parliamentary bodies, and individuals have called for Senator De Lima’s immediate release, including the European Parliament, the Australian Parliament, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Liberal International, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, and many of Sen- ator De Lima’s colleagues in the Senate minority bloc: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR233.IH HR233 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 233 IH (1) condemns— 1 (A) the Government of the Philippines for 2 its role in state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings 3 by police and other armed individuals as part of 4 the ‘‘War on Drugs’’; 5 (B) the arrest and detention of human 6 rights defenders and political leaders who exer- 7 cise their rights to freedom of expression; and 8 (C) the continued detention of Senator 9 Leila De Lima; 10 (2) considers Senator Leila De Lima to be a 11 prisoner of conscience, detained solely on account of 12 her political views and the legitimate exercise of her 13 freedom of expression; 14 (3) calls on the Government of the Philippines 15 to immediately release Senator De Lima, drop all 16 charges against her, remove restrictions on her per- 17 sonal and work conditions, and allow her to fully dis- 18 charge her legislative mandate, especially as Chair of 19 the Committee on Social Justice; and 20 (4) urges the Philippine Government to recog- 21 nize the importance of human rights defenders and 22 their work, and allow them to operate freely without 23 fear of reprisal. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR233.IH HR233 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS