Title: Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017
This bill prohibits exporting defense articles or services, or issuing licenses for export of any item controlled by the United States for law enforcement, riot control, or related purposes, for use by the Philippine National Police or associated entities, with exceptions for the exportation of defense articles or the provision of training for maritime law enforcement, criminal justice programs, human rights training, or counter-terrorism programs for such police.
The President may, with prior congressional notice, waive such restrictions in the U.S. national interest.
The bill makes specified FY2017-FY2018 funds available to support human rights, democracy, and public health in the Philippines.
The Department of State shall report to Congress: (1) annually for five years regarding foreign assistance cases related to the Philippine National Police or associated entities submitted for vetting for having committed human rights violations; (2) annually regarding Chinese and other sources of narcotics production in the Philippines; (3) regarding whether U.S. military assistance and arms transfers provided for such police are used to commit human rights violations or have been used in violation of other U.S. laws applicable to military or security assistance; and (4) regarding partner capacity building assistance to the Philippines to enhance maritime capabilities, respond to emerging threats, and maintain freedom of operations in international waters and airspace in the Asia-Pacific maritime domains.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1055 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1055

    To restrict the exportation of certain defense articles to the 
  Philippine National Police, to work with the Philippines to support 
   civil society and a public health approach to substance abuse, to 
report on Chinese and other sources of narcotics to the Republic of the 
                  Philippines, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2017

 Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To restrict the exportation of certain defense articles to the 
  Philippine National Police, to work with the Philippines to support 
   civil society and a public health approach to substance abuse, to 
report on Chinese and other sources of narcotics to the Republic of the 
                  Philippines, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Philippines Human 
Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Policy statements.
Sec. 4. Definition.
Sec. 5. Restriction on assistance to the Philippine National Police.
Sec. 6. Leahy vetting report on foreign assistance cases related to the 
                            Philippine National Police.
Sec. 7. Report on Chinese and other sources of narcotics to the 
                            Philippines.
Sec. 8. Human rights, democracy, and public health promotion.
Sec. 9. Report on United States military assistance and arms transfers 
                            to the Philippines.
Sec. 10. Report on plans for Philippines partner capacity building.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

            (1) On August 28, 2016, Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio 
        Cardinal Tagle said, in response to the extrajudicial killings 
        in the Philippines, ``I know that the big issue nowadays is the 
        recent spate of killings--which, they say, afflicts even those 
        not guilty, the innocent--but whether a person is guilty or 
        not, life should be cared for and respected.''.
            (2) The Department of State's 2017 Human Rights Report, 
        released on March 3, 2017--
                    (A) states that ``police and unknown vigilantes 
                have killed more than 6,000 suspected drug dealers and 
                users'' in the Philippines between July and December 
                2016, a period during which extrajudicial killings 
                ``increased sharply''; and
                    (B) chronicles the environment for extrajudicial 
                killings allegedly undertaken by vigilantes, security 
                forces, and insurgents and the ``apparent governmental 
                disregard for human rights and due process; and a weak 
                and overburdened criminal justice system''.
            (3) On January 31, 2017, Amnesty International reported, 
        ``Since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in June 2016, 
        there has been a relentless campaign of violence against 
        alleged drug offenders, incited by the President and his 
        administration. More than 7,000 people have been killed, 
        roughly one-third during formal police operations and the rest 
        by unknown shooters who often arrive masked and on motorbike to 
        kill specific people.''.
            (4) Human Rights Watch has reported that since President 
        Duterte took office, police and unidentified gunmen together 
        have killed more than 7,000 suspected drug users and dealers, 
        with police officials themselves claiming to have killed almost 
        3,000 in ``encounters'' with supposed drug sellers or users. 
        The police have attributed 3,271 other killings to 
        ``vigilantes'' and drug gangs, although Human Rights Watch 
        research suggests that many of these cases may also entail 
        police and police agent involvement in extrajudicial 
        executions.
            (5) On February 14, 2017, national police chief Ronald Dela 
        Rosa announced that he was suspending anti-narcotics operations 
        after a South Korean businessman was killed at national police 
        headquarters.
            (6) On February 23, 2017, an arrest warrant was issued 
        against Philippines Senator Leila de Lima for alleged 
        involvement in drug trafficking. The prosecution of de Lima 
        came following her repeated criticism of the Duterte 
        administration for its conduct of the drug war, her holding of 
        Senate hearings where alleged former members of a death squad 
        testified that Duterte participated in extrajudicial killings 
        in Davao City when he was mayor, and repeated threats against 
        her from Duterte and his allies.
            (7) On December 16, 2016, Reuters reported, ``China isn't 
        only a source of meth expertise--it is also the biggest source 
        of the meth and of the precursor chemicals used to produce the 
        synthetic drug that are being smuggled into the Philippines, 
        according to local drug enforcement officials. `It's safe to 
        say that the majority of the meth we have comes from China,' 
        said Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Derrick 
        Carreon.''.

SEC. 3. POLICY STATEMENTS.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to reaffirm its commitment and support for the 
        Philippines, including the longstanding United States policy 
        regarding Article V of the United States-Philippines Mutual 
        Defense Treaty, signed at Washington August 30, 1951 (3 UST 
        3947);
            (2) to work with the Philippines to promote economic growth 
        and development through--
                    (A) programs such as the Partnership for Growth, 
                which seeks to strengthen regulatory quality, fiscal 
                management, and human capacity development in the 
                Philippines; and
                    (B) other appropriate bilateral and multilateral 
                economic development and trade initiatives;
            (3) to work with the Philippines to support a public health 
        approach to substance abuse, drug addiction, and the illegal 
        use of narcotics utilizing comprehensive, voluntary, and 
        community-based treatment and rehabilitation programs in line 
        with international standards;
            (4) to support the people of the Philippines in their 
        efforts--
                    (A) to strengthen the rule of law and anti-
                corruption measures;
                    (B) to further effective judicial and legal 
                institutions; and
                    (C) to promote human rights and civil society.
            (5) to expand opportunities for more robust cooperative 
        security assistance programs, particularly programs involving 
        maritime security and maritime domain awareness;
            (6) to pursue and coordinate robust cooperative security 
        assistance programs for capacity building of the Philippines to 
        establish a credible defense posture, and to support counter-
        terrorism and maritime law enforcement;
            (7) to coordinate closely on the implementation of the 
        Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a mutually beneficial 
        agreement that will--
                    (A) enhance the United States ability to provide 
                rapid humanitarian assistance; and
                    (B) help build capacity for the modernization of 
                the Armed Forces of the Philippines;
            (8) to enhance military-to-military cooperation and inter-
        operability through joint exercises, capacity-building, and 
        intelligence sharing and support work to establish a robust 
        information security program, which will lead to achieving a 
        General Security of Military Information Agreement; and
            (9) to enhance cybersecurity cooperation between the United 
        States and the Philippines.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (5) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (6) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.

SEC. 5. RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) through (d), no defense 
articles or defense services may be exported, and no licenses for 
export of any item controlled by the United States for law enforcement, 
riot control, or related purposes may be issued, for the use of the 
Philippine National Police or entities associated with the Philippine 
National Police.
    (b) Exceptions.--The restrictions under subsection (a) shall not 
apply to the exportation of defense articles or the provision of 
training for maritime law enforcement (Coast Guard drug interdiction), 
criminal justice programs, human rights training, and counter-terrorism 
programs for use of the Philippine National Police.
    (c) Waiver.--The President may waive the restrictions under 
subsection (a), on a case-by-case basis, if--
            (1) the President determines that the export of such item 
        or service is in the national interest of the United States; 
        and
            (2) the President notifies the appropriate congressional 
        committees of the determination under paragraph (1), including 
        the justification for such determination, at least 30 days 
        before invoking such waiver.
    (d) Sunset.--
            (1) In general.--The restrictions under subsection (a) 
        shall terminate on--
                    (A) the date that is 5 years after the date of the 
                enactment of this Act; or
                    (B) the date set forth in paragraph (2) if the 
                President determines that--
                            (i) the Philippine National Police and its 
                        associated entities have been sufficiently 
                        reformed; and
                            (ii) sufficient safeguards, reporting, 
                        investigatory, and judicial measures have been 
                        established to prevent recurrent human rights 
                        abuses.
            (2) Notice.--The date set forth in this paragraph is 30 
        days after the President notifies the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
        the House of Representatives that the President has made the 
        determination described in paragraph (1)(B) and provides such 
        committees with justification for such determination.

SEC. 6. LEAHY VETTING REPORT ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE CASES RELATED TO THE 
              PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until 5 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit 
a report to the appropriate congressional committees on foreign 
assistance cases related to the Philippine National Police, or entities 
associated with the Philippine National Police, submitted for vetting 
for purposes of section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2378d) during the preceding fiscal year, including--
            (1) the total number of cases related to the Philippine 
        National Police submitted, approved, suspended, or rejected for 
        human rights reasons; and
            (2) for cases rejected, a description of the steps taken to 
        assist the foreign government in taking effective measures to 
        bring the responsible members of the security forces to 
        justice, in accordance with section 620M(c) of such Act.
    (b) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may be accompanied by a classified 
annex.

SEC. 7. REPORT ON CHINESE AND OTHER SOURCES OF NARCOTICS TO THE 
              PHILIPPINES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, 
with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration and the Secretary of Defense, shall submit a report to 
the appropriate congressional committees that describes, for the 
previous calendar year--
            (1) Chinese and other sources of narcotics and precursor 
        chemicals to produce narcotics in the Philippines; and
            (2) Chinese and other sources of expertise for the 
        production of narcotics in the Philippines.
    (b) Form.--Each report under subsection (a) shall be submitted in 
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 8. HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROMOTION.

    Of the amounts made available for the Department of State and the 
United States Agency for International Development to support global 
health and civil society, including human rights defenders, and to 
promote the rule of law and good governance in fiscal years 2017 and 
2018, up to $25,000,000 may be used to support human rights, democracy, 
and public health in the Philippines, including--
            (1) supporting Filipino defenders of human rights;
            (2) assisting victims of human rights violations;
            (3) responding to human rights emergencies;
            (4) promoting and encouraging the rule of law, including 
        the support for nongovernmental organizations in the 
        Philippines;
            (5) promoting a public health approach to substance abuse, 
        drug addiction, and the illegal use of narcotics utilizing 
        comprehensive, voluntary, and community-based treatment and 
        rehabilitation programs that are consistent with international 
        standards; and
            (6) carrying out such other related activities as are 
        consistent with paragraphs (1) through (5).

SEC. 9. REPORT ON UNITED STATES MILITARY ASSISTANCE AND ARMS TRANSFERS 
              TO THE PHILIPPINES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of 
the Secretary of Defense, shall submit a classified report to the 
appropriate congressional committees on whether--
            (1) United States military assistance, cooperation, 
        security assistance, and arms transfers (including items 
        prohibited under section 5, and any defense or other items or 
        services controlled for export by the United States that have 
        been provided for the use of the Philippine National Police and 
        its associated entities) are used by the Philippine National 
        Police and its associated entities--
                    (A) to commit gross violations of human rights; or
                    (B) in violation of other United States laws 
                applicable to United States military or security 
                assistance, cooperation, and arms transfers that are 
                related to human rights and preventing human rights 
                violations; and
            (2) the United States has the ability--
                    (A) to determine whether United States military 
                assistance and arms transfers are used to commit gross 
                violations of human rights;
                    (B) to detect other violations of United States law 
                concerning United States military or security 
                assistance, cooperation, and arms transfers, including 
                the diversion of such assistance or the use of such 
                assistance by security force or police units credibly 
                implicated in gross human rights violations; and
                    (C) to determine whether individuals or units that 
                have received United States military, security, or 
                police training or have participated or are scheduled 
                to participate in joint exercises with United States 
                forces have been credibly implicated in gross human 
                rights violations.
    (b) Technology Transfer Status Report.--Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees, in 
unclassified form to the maximum extent possible, that summarizes the 
status of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency's efforts to 
implement the End-Use Monitoring Enhancement Plan relating to 
government-to-government transfers and commercial sales of defense 
articles, defense services, law enforcement articles, law enforcement 
services, and related technologies.

SEC. 10. REPORT ON PLANS FOR PHILIPPINES PARTNER CAPACITY BUILDING.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Secretary of 
Defense, shall submit a classified report to the appropriate 
congressional committees that includes a plan that describes, for each 
of the 6-month, 1-year, and 5-year periods beginning on the date of 
such report--
            (1) partner capacity building assistance to the Philippines 
        to enhance maritime capabilities, respond to emerging threats, 
        and maintain freedom of operations in international waters and 
        airspace in the Asia-Pacific maritime domains;
            (2) recommendations, if any, for additional foreign 
        military sales, foreign military financing, and international 
        military education and training to be made available to the 
        Philippines, including--
                    (A) any necessary updates to the report detailing 
                steps taken by the Government of the Philippines to 
                investigate and prosecute army personnel involved in 
                human rights violations, as required by Senate Report 
                114-79; and
                    (B) an assessment of the commitment of the 
                Government of the Philippines to international human 
                rights conventions; and
            (3) how the assistance referred to in paragraph (1) will be 
        implemented in accordance with appropriate human rights laws, 
        including--
                    (A) the regular process for vetting participants in 
                security assistance and training programs funded by the 
                United States under section 620M of the Foreign 
                Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d); and
                    (B) the restrictions on assistance to foreign 
                security forces set forth in section 362 of title 10, 
                United States Code.
                                 <all>