By ANTHONY IAN CRUZ
Malaya
Dec. 26, 2007
THE $500,000 lobby effort of the Arroyo government will only go to waste because it has no moral ground to start with, according to GMA WATCH, an advocacy group of Filipino-Americans and Americans whose lobby efforts resulted in the inclusion by the US Congress of human rights preconditions on US military aid for the country.
The Arroyo government last week confirmed reports that it is hiring Covington & Burling LLP, a top US lobby group, to promote Philippine interests in the US Congress and government.
Chief presidential legal counsel Sergio Apostol said government needs the services of international consultancy group because Left-leaning movements are beating government in terms of propaganda before the US Congress and government.
He said Leftists were behind reports quoting US authorities as saying the Philippines would not be given any aid if it does not solve the problem of extrajudicial killings.
Katrina Abarcar, national coordinator of GMA WATCH, said: “The fact the Philippine government feels the need to spend anywhere from $500,000 to $50 million to counter this movement shows who has the moral high ground.”
Abarcar said while a bill adopted by the US Congress might have slightly increased annual military aid to the Philippines to $30 million from $29.7 million, the amount of $2 million is on hold until such time the Philippine government implements recommendations of Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings and summary executions.
Abarcar said that “this marks the first time ever the US government has set conditions on the Philippine government to improve its human rights record before it releases military aid.”
“This is a victory for the Filipino people and the growing solidarity movement in the US. Many Americans and Filipino-Americans are sympathetic to the cause of human rights in the Philippines,” said Abarcar.
“The task now is to make sure the Philippine government lives up to those conditions. We urge everyone to contact their elected officials and monitor the reports on the Philippines that the State Department is supposed to furnish to Congress,” Abarcar said.
Abarcar also said the movement was called GMA WATCH to “point a finger and isolate Arroyo” who is the commander in chief of the military which Alston has blamed for most of the extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances.
Abarcar said GMA WATCH worked closely with the Ecumenical Action Network (EAN) in its lobby efforts.
EAN spearheaded a petition-signing campaign asking US senators and congressmen to limit US military aid to Arroyo, and to put in place conditions requiring the Philippines to improve the human rights condition for further aid.
Leaders of the Presbyterian Church, United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church and the Unitarian Universalist Church signed the EAN petition.
