Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

S71

HOUSE BILL N

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,

AN ACT
WITHHOLDING OPERATIONAL FUNDS OF UNITS OF THE ARMED
FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES IMPLICATED IN GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Under the Arroyo administration, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
gained international notoriety for its alleged involvement in a significant number of
extrajudicial killings and involuntary disappearances of citizens, many of whom were
activists opposed to the administration's policies and programs. Such gross violations
drew the attention not only of human rights organizations such as Amnesty
International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), but also the United Nations
Special Rapporteur on Summary and Extrajudicial Killings, Philip Alston, and even
the United States Senate Defense Committee led by Sen. Barbara Boxer. All
acknowledged a link between human rights violations and the AFP's
counterinsurgency program, then known as Oplan Bantay Laya. Many noted that the
so-called “climate of impunity” enabled perpetrators to commit violations on such a
scale.

The passage of the years and changing of administrations saw only the
worsening of the human rights climate in the country. The HRW noted that, under the
Aquino administration, ‘several key institutions, including law enforcement agencies
and the justice system, remain weak and the military and police commit human rights
violations with impunity” (Human Rights Watch World Report 2011). Until now, only
a few military and police personnel have been criminally charged, least of all
convicted, for human rights violations. Duterte—who made no secret of his contempt
for human rights and human rights defenders with statements such as “J don’t care



about human rights”—has been repeatedly scored for systemic violations of the
people’s rights, state terror. violence, and repression under his reign by the United
Nations and local and international rights monitors.

And laws passed during his term, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act, and
red-tagging as a state policy, only foreshadow the country becoming a killing field in
the coming years—a figurative one, with the death of human rights protection, and a
literal killing field, with state agents and paramilitaries emboldened to threaten,
harass, then kill citizens.

Government should use every tool at its disposal to promote respect for human
rights and end impunity, particularly within the ranks of the military. The national
budget is one such tool. Experience shows that the release or non-release of funds can
be a powerful instrument for promoting reforms and modifying behavior in the ranks
of government. This bill proposes the introduction of a “no impunity provision” in
our laws, one that would link the release of operational funds of units of the AFP to
their compliance with human rights standards.

Such a provision will encourage the AFP chain of command to ensure that their
units uphold and respect human rights at all times in the discharge of their duties,
especially during counterinsurgency operations. Furthermore, it will encourage AFP
commanders to promptly identify perpetrators and make sure that the proper charges
are filed. It also underscores the responsibility of the Secretary of National Defense in
ensuring that charges are filed against individual perpetrators. For its part, the
Commission on Human Rights is given the role of vetting complaints and weeding out
spurious allegations.

The proposed amendment draws some inspiration from the Leahy Law in the
United States, a provision in US foreign aid appropriations legislation introduced by
Senator Patrick Leahy, that prohibits the granting of US military aid to foreign
security forces units with a known track record of gross human rights violations.

Approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

ep. ARLENE D.BROSAS —_—-Rep. RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL
GABRIELA Womens Party KABATAAN Party



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No._971

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE ‘
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,

and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL,

AN ACT
WITHHOLDING OPERATIONAL FUNDS OF UNITS OF THE ARMED
FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES IMPLICATED IN GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS,

Be ir enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. State Policies. The State shall value the dignity of every human being
and guarantee full respect for human rights. Civilian authority shall always be
supreme over the military, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall stand as the
protector of the people and the State. The State shall therefore take steps to ensure
that mechanisms designed towards the genuine exercise of civilian supremacy and the
full promotion, protection, and realization of human rights are in place.

SEC. 2. No impunity provision. Upon a determination by the Commission on
Human Rights (CHR) of credible evidence that a unit of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines has committed a gross violation of human rights, the maintenance and
other operating expenses of the unit concerned shall be withheld until the CHR
determines and reports to the President of the Philippines that the Secretary of the
Department of National Defense has taken effective measures to identify the
responsible member or members of the unit and ensured that the appropriate charges
are filed

‘The determination provided for in this Section may be done motu proprio by

the CHR initiated either through a complaint filed by aggrieved party or by any
concerned citizen, organization, association, or institution. In the latter case, no form


or fee shall be required in the filing of the complaint, after which, the CHR shail make
the determination within five (5) calendar days.

SEC. 3. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The CHR, upon consultation with
human rights advocates and organizations, shall promulgate, within fifteen (15) days
from the effectivity of this Act, the rules and regulations necessary for its
implementation.

SEC. 4. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, resolutions, orders, or ordinances or
parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 5.  Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other
provisions hereof.

SEC. 6. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in one newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,