Philippine Human Rights Act

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1433 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1433

  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

                             March 7, 2023

  Ms. Wild (for herself, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. 
McGovern, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Omar, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Grijalva, and 
 Ms. Norton) 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 United States State Department's 2021 Human Rights 
        Report on the Philippines found ``significant human rights 
        issues'' in the country, including ``extrajudicial killings, by 
        and on behalf of the government and nonstate actors; reports of 
        forced disappearance by and on behalf of the government and 
        nonstate actors; torture by and on behalf of the government and 
        nonstate actors; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; 
        arbitrary detention by and on behalf of the government and 
        nonstate actors; serious problems with the independence of the 
        judiciary.'' The Report also notes, ``serious restrictions on 
        free expression and media, including violence, threats of 
        violence, and unjustified arrests or prosecutions of 
        journalists, censorship, and the use of criminal libel laws to 
        punish journalists; high-level and widespread government 
        corruption; serious government restrictions on or harassment of 
        domestic human rights organizations; and threats and violence 
        against labor activists''.
            (2) The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights (OHCHR), reported in September 2022, that major 
        human rights issues persist in the Philippines, including, 
        ``harassment, threats, arrests, attacks, red-tagging against 
        civil society actors, as well as the continued drug related 
        killings by police,'' and, ``access to justice for victims of 
        human rights violations and abuses remained very limited''.
            (3) A 2021 international independent investigation, 
        Investigate Philippines, found that since 2020, ``the 
        perpetuation of human rights violations by State forces has 
        become more institutionalized, streamlined, and entrenched, and 
        domestic remedies for such violations are insufficient, 
        ineffective at providing redress and halting continued 
        abuses''. Said investigation further found: police and military 
        forces are perpetuating violations and obstructing justice; 
        investigations are not impartial; mechanisms for civilians to 
        hold police and military accountable are failing; court 
        protections are inaccessible, slow and discriminatory; 
        government forces are orchestrating political repression and 
        militarizing governance; counterinsurgency activities are 
        targeting lawyers and denying victims access to counsel; 
        efforts to challenge unjust laws through legal channels are 
        being dismissed; public institutions and bodies which should 
        provide checks and balances or oversight have been eviscerated 
        or lack clout.
            (4) In a 2023 report, Human Rights Watch reports there has 
        been ``no letup'' in the War on drugs in the Philippines under 
        the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration, which leading human 
        rights organizations estimate took up to 30,000 lives under 
        former President Rodrigo Duterte.
            (5) According to the Joint Report of Trade Unions to the 
        International Labor Organization, from 2019 to the beginning of 
        2023, there have been 16 killing of trade unionists, two cases 
        of forced disappearances, 68 cases of arrests and detention, 90 
        cases of forced disaffiliation, 58 cases of red-tagging, and 
        127 cases of intimidation of union leaders and members. 
        Additionally, the Report notes that the Government of the 
        Philippines has failed to act on any previous recommendations 
        by the International Labor Organization to protect workers' 
        rights, and responded directly to recommendations that, ``it 
        requires further clarification as to what constitutes effective 
        measures to prevent violence against workers; what constitutes 
        immediate and effective investigation''.
            (6) In 2022, the International Trade Union Confederation 
        (ITUC) listed the Philippines as one of the ``10 worst 
        countries in the world for working people'' for the sixth 
        consecutive year. In its 2022 report, the ITUC stated: 
        ``Workers and their representatives in the Philippines remained 
        particularly vulnerable to violent attacks, intimidation and 
        arbitrary arrests. Trade unionists, maliciously red-tagged by 
        President Duterte, remained under immediate threat from the 
        police and the army, which conducted targeted raids against 
        them. Over 50 trade unionists have been killed since President 
        Duterte came to power in 2016''.
            (7) In the first six months of the Marcos administration 
        alone, the Alliance for Advancement of People's Rights 
        (Karapatan) has documented 17 extrajudicial killings, 165 
        illegal arrests, 9,159 forced evacuations, and 357,726 cases of 
        harassment and intimidation.
            (8) In 2021, the international NGO Global Witness declared 
        the Philippines to be the deadliest country in Asia for 
        environmental activists for the ninth consecutive year. Since 
        President Duterte took office in 2016, 30 environmentalists, 54 
        indigenous people, and 207 farmers and peasants have been 
        extrajudicially killed. Included in the targeting of 
        environmental activists during this timeframe, was United 
        States citizen, Brandon Lee, who was subjected to an 
        assassination attempt on August 6, 2019. Brandon Lee 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.
            (9) Philippine State actors have targeted lawyers, judges, 
        and politicians for repression. According to the National Union 
        of Peoples' Lawyers, 133 Filipino lawyers have been murdered 
        over the past 40 years, with 59 being murdered during Duterte's 
        6-year term as President.
            (10) Since February 2017, Senator Leila de Lima, vocal 
        critic of the Government of the Philippines' human rights 
        violations, has been jailed on spurious charges. Amnesty 
        International, other leading human rights organizations, and 
        the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the Office of the 
        United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have 
        documented the fabricated charges, coerced testimonies, and 
        other violations of Senator de Lima's rights that have 
        occurred. This case reflects a broader pattern, with 
        authorities in the Philippines consistently targeting political 
        opposition leaders through politically motivated, spurious 
        charges.
            (11) It is widely recognized that the Government of the 
        Philippines silences dissent and the press. 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 repressive 
        practices of State security forces, recipient of the 2021 Nobel 
        Peace Prize, and founder of the digital news site Rappler was 
        convicted of cyber libel in June 2020. Multiple journalists 
        critical of the Government, including Percy Lapid--a radio 
        broadcaster and critic of the Marcos administration who was 
        killed in October 2022--have been murdered since the beginning 
        of the Marcos administration. And according to Freedom House's 
        2022 report on the Philippines, ``impunity remains the norm for 
        violent crimes against activists and journalists''.
            (12) On March 7, 2021, nine activists were killed in a 
        joint operation conducted by the Philippine National Police and 
        the Armed Forces of the Philippines in an event widely referred 
        to as ``Bloody Sunday'' in the Philippines. Included in those 
        who were killed by State security forces was labor leader 
        Emmanuel ``Manny'' Asuncion. The Philippines' Department of 
        Justice has declined to prosecute individuals implicated in the 
        murder of Manny Asuncion, as well as in the murders of other 
        activists. This failure to bring perpetrators to justice 
        reflects the systemic lack of accountability within Philippine 
        State security forces and prosecutorial agencies.
            (13) On July 3, 2020, the Anti-Terrorism Act of the 
        Philippines was passed into law. While purporting to counter 
        terrorism, the bill rolls back many civil liberties by 
        lessening requirements for judicial warrants, allows for 
        extended pre-trial detention, and allows for the prosecution of 
        conduct that is considered protected political speech. The 
        Anti-Terrorism Act is viewed by many as a threat to Freedom of 
        Speech in the Philippines. Representative Jan Schakowsky, along 
        with 49 other members of the United States Congress, urged the 
        Government of the Philippines to repeal ``this repressive 
        legislation''.
            (14) The practice of ``red-tagging'', wherein the 
        Government labels activists, critics, and non-governmental 
        organizations as terrorists, has been growing in the 
        Philippines, including the red-tagging of overseas Filipinos, 
        United States citizens, and Philippine election observers. This 
        tactic is used to isolate individuals or groups and chill 
        political speech, and in many cases, mark them for harassment 
        or assassination by Philippines security or paramilitary 
        forces.
            (15) The Government of the Philippines fails to cooperate 
        in matters of international law, including the International 
        Criminal Court investigation into alleged crimes committed in 
        the Philippines between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, 
        in the context of the so-called ``war on drugs'' campaign.
            (16) The Armed Forces of the Philippines uses tactics of 
        strafing and aerial bombings in military operations that have 
        killed dozens and displaced thousands of civilians. In 2017, 
        Armed Forces conducted a widespread bombing campaign on Marawi 
        City, displacing 400,000 people and destroying the city. In 
        2019, AFP bombings in Mindanao displaced 300 Indigenous People. 
        In November 2021, peace advocates called for a stop to ongoing 
        aerial bombings in Bukidnon. In February 2022, the Armed Forces 
        dropped at least 30 bombs in Cagayan Valley where there is a 
        population of 41,680 people. In October 2022, the 94th infantry 
        battalion conducted strafing and bombings in Negros Occidental, 
        resulting in over 15,000 evacuees.
            (17) The United States continues to provide robust 
        assistance to 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. In October 2022, the United States 
        provided $100,000,000 in military financing.

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, faith and religious leaders, 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.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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