[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8313 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8313
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
September 17, 2020
Ms. Wild (for herself, Mr. Costa, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Haaland, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Khanna, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Rush, Mr. Johnson of Georgia,
Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Norton, Mr. Raskin,
Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Omar, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Ocasio-
Cortez, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, and Ms. Bonamici) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial 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 Philippines
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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Philippine Human Rights Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The U.S. State Department's 2019 Human Rights Report on
the Philippines states ``There were numerous reports of
government security agencies and their informal allies
committed arbitrary or unlawful killings in connection with the
government directed campaign against illegal drugs.''. The
Report goes on to state, ``Government mechanisms to investigate
and punish abuse and corruption in the security forces were
poorly resourced and remained largely ineffective''. The United
Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in its
annual report for the 44th Session of the Human Rights Council
concluded that there is ``long-standing overemphasis on public
order and national security at the expense of human rights has
become more acute in recent years, and there are concerns that
the vilification of dissent is being increasingly
institutionalized and normalized in ways that will be very
difficult to reverse;''.
(2) The United States continues to provide support via
security assistance to the administration of Philippines
President Duterte, whose brutal Drug War and other campaigns
have taken the lives of over 30,000 urban poor, peasants,
workers, indigenous and environmental activists as well as
human rights defenders, religious leaders, and peace advocates.
(3) Government agencies of the Philippines report 4,948
suspected drug users and dealers, including 60 children, died
during police operations from July 1, 2016 to September 30,
2018, and according to Human Rights Watch, the Philippine
National Police (PNP) have reported 22,983 deaths remain
classified as ``homicides under investigation'' since the Drug
War began.
(4) As of April 2020, the Alliance for Advancement of
People's Rights (``Karapatan'') has documented 308
extrajudicial political killings, 439 victims of attempted
politically motivated killings, 214 victims of torture, around
2,500 victims of illegal arrests, over 100,000 victims of
threats and harassments, and nearly half a million internal
refugees under the Duterte administration.
(5) More than 16 mayors and vice mayors have been killed
since President Duterte took office, and Duterte has personally
spoke blatantly in press conferences advocating for the killing
of Catholic bishops during a period where three Catholic
priests were assassinated.
(6) Labor leaders and legislators have also been amongst
those attacked by the administration, with 30 labor leaders
killed, 3 labor leaders being held as political prisoners, and
Senator Leila De Lima who has been a staunch critic of the drug
war killings having been detained for over 2 years.
(7) The international NGO Global Witness has declared the
Philippines to be the deadliest country in the world for
defenders of human rights, the environment, and natural
resources, with 13 environmentalists, 54 indigenous people, and
207 farmers and peasants extrajudicially killed since Duterte
took office in 2016. Included in the targeting of environmental
activists was American citizen, Brandon Lee, who was subjected
to an assassination attempt on August 6, 2019. Brandon has been
subjected to repeated threats and harassment by the Philippine
military due to his advocacy relating to the land and rights of
indigenous people in Ifugao province and the surrounding
Cordillera region of the Philippines. While Brandon Lee
survived the attack, he has been left paralyzed and his
assailants have not been brought to justice.
(8) It is widely recognized that the Duterte administration
silences dissent and the press. The State Department's 2019
Report states, ``Government harassment of some media outlets
occurred, however, and polls suggested many Filipinos consider
it dangerous to publish information critical of the
administration.'' In May 2020, ABS-CBN, one of the Philippines'
two major sources of news, and an occasional critic of
Duterte's policies, was forced off air due to the denial of a
franchise license by the Congress of the Philippines, at the
behest of the Duterte administration. Similarly, Maria Ressa, a
vocal critic of the Duterte administration, Times Magazine's
Person of the Year 2018 recipient, and founder of the digital
news site Rappler was convicted of cyber libel in June 2020. In
July 2020, the Duterte administration signed the ``Anti-
Terrorism Act of 2020'' into law. Countless Filipino and
international commentators, including fifty U.S.
Representatives have warned that the law will be used to
further target critics and silence dissent.
(9) The United States continues to arm state security
forces of the Philippines. Despite clear documentation of
abuses and international condemnation, in April 2020, the
United States announced a pair of arms sales totaling
$2,000,000,000 for items including hellfire missiles and attack
helicopters. In July 2020, the United States announced an
additional sale of $126,000,000 worth of assault boats and
armaments.
SEC. 3. SUSPENSION OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE.
(a) Suspension of Security Assistance.--No Federal funds are
authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available to provide
assistance for the police or military of the Philippines, including
assistance in the form of equipment or training until the date
described in subsection (d).
(b) Loans From Multilateral Development Banks.--The President shall
instruct United States representatives at multilateral development
banks to vote against providing any loans to the police or military of
the Philippines.
(c) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Inspectors General of the Department of
State and Department of Defense shall jointly submit to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that--
(1) specifies all forms of security assistance or loans
made available to the Philippine National Police or the armed
forces of the Philippines, including any organizations or
individuals operating with the authority of the Philippine
National Police or the armed forces of the Philippines, by the
United States or by multilateral development banks during the
period beginning January 1, 2016, and ending on the date of the
submission of the report;
(2) contains all reports generated by recipients of United
States security assistance or loans from multilateral
development banks to the Philippines with respect to the use,
investment, or transfer of such assistance or loans; and
(3) details any and all misuses of security assistance and
loans during the period beginning January 1, 2016, and ending
on the date of the submission of the report by the Philippine
National Police, the armed forces of the Philippines, or any
affiliated groups or individuals, such as extrajudicial
killings, intimidation of political opponents, illegal sales
under Philippine or international law, or misappropriation.
(d) Conditions for Lifting Suspension of Assistance.--The
suspension of security assistance under subsection (a) shall terminate
on the date on which the Secretary of State certifies to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate that the Government of the Philippines
has--
(1) ) investigated and successfully prosecuted members of
military and police forces who have violated human rights,
ensured that the military and police cooperated in such cases,
and affirmed that such violations have ceased;
(2) withdrawn the military from involvement in domestic
policing activities, in accordance with the Philippine
Constitution and ensured that all domestic police functions are
separated from the military chain of command and are instead
directly responsible to civilian authorities;
(3) established that it effectively protects the rights of
trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, critics
of the government, and other civil society activists to operate
without interference;
(4) taken effective steps to guarantee a judicial system
that is capable of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to
justice members of the police and military who have committed
human rights abuses; and
(5) fully complied with domestic and United States audits
and investigations regarding the improper use of prior security
assistance.
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