By ANTHONY IAN CRUZ
Malaya
Nov. 8, 2007

NOTHING is sure yet after all with the purported $30 million in fresh military aid from the United States, a lobby composed of Filipinos and Americans, including members of US churches, said yesterday.

The Arroyo government might not even get any increase at all and could face more preconditions on every dollar coming from the US if political killings and human rights violations continue, said the group Katarungan Committee for Peace, Justice and Human Rights in the Philippines.

“Both houses of the US Congress have yet to meet and reconcile their versions of the US budget appropriations bill for 2008 and that means that the Arroyo government actually still has nothing concrete to brag about,” it said.

“The Arroyo government is focusing only on the bright side of the US Senate version of the bill while at the same time airbrushing the historic portions that paint it as a human rights violator,” said Bernadette Ellorin, secretary general of Bayan USA, one of the groups involved in the lobby efforts to limit US military aid because of what is seen as continuing extrajudicial executions and human rights violations.

Katarungan and Bayan USA said they want to “prevent US public funds from financing the reign of terror in the Philippines.”

Malacañang and the Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday said the Philippines has clinched $30 million in fresh military aid and immediately expressed thanks to the US government.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said the “the increased United States funding assistance levels to the Philippines “contains no preconditions” or strings attached,” referring to “an almost three-fold increase to Foreign Military Funding (FMF) for the Philippines – from the $11 million proposed by the Executive Department, to $30 million.”

Malacañang and the DFA released the statements on increased military aid soon after an October 31 posting on the official website of the office of Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, which featured news on the US Senate’s pre-conditions in the article “US Congress tying assistance to Sri Lanka and the Philippines to progress against extrajudicial executions.”

According to Ellorin, “Malacañang is obviously doing a media blitz based on old news on a US Senate proposal approved two months ago and which is not yet final. Perhaps this is to cover up the failure of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita to dampen the UN report delivered by Alston.”

Ellorin also said “the US House version only allots $23 million in military aid for the entire East Asia and Pacific region.”

“With both Houses yet to reconcile their versions of the budget bills, it thus remains uncertain whether the Arroyo government will get the $30 million that Philippine officials have bandied about,” Ellorin said.

Katarungan said no bicameral committee meeting has been scheduled because “to date, only the Senate has publicized who their conferees are.”

REENACTED BUDGET

Katarungan also said the US government is now running on a reenacted budget, after the US Congress failed to enact a new budget measure before October 1, the start of the US fiscal year.

“This turn of events is creating havoc for government agencies, which are operating under a ‘continuing resolution’ that provides the same amount of money as in the last fiscal year. By November 16, when the continuing resolution expires, Congress will either need to have passed the funding bills or come up with more short-term answers for programs that still do not have their appropriations approved,” it said.

Katarungan also said the US Senate approved in plenary on September 6 “restrictive language” or pre-conditions introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer on an additional $2-million military assistance to the Philippines.

Ellorin said the “restrictive language” means that the Arroyo government’s human rights record is now under closer scrutiny by the US Congress but “Malacañang is airbrushing this important, historic fact in yet another act of cover-up.”

REAL ACTION

According to documents provided by Katarungan, Boxer, using strong, pointed language recorded in the US Senate journal, said “this binding legislative language is critical. I hope that Secretary [Condoleezza] Rice is able to produce a report that states that the Philippine government is taking real action and the Philippine military is no longer responsible for the deaths of innocent persons.”

Boxer also told the Senate that “for too long, the government of the Philippines has not taken sufficient action to address extrajudicial killings and bring those responsible to justice.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy, responding to Boxer’s query on the Senate floor whether he will work with her to put additional limitations on future US military assistance to the Philippines if the Philippines fails to meet the conditions, said: “I share Sen. Boxer’s concern about extrajudicial violence in the Philippines and will continue to monitor this situation carefully.”

SETTING CONDITIONS

Leahy, who chairs the US Senate committee handling the budget bill for the State Department and Foreign Operations, warned that he “will consider additional limitations on future US military assistance if the Philippine government fails to adequately address this issue.”

Leahy and Boxer introduced the second pre-condition to the budget bill under Amendment No. 2762 “to clarify conditions on assistance for the Philippines,” according to a document obtained by the Katarungan.

Under Section 688 of the Senate-approved budget bill, the $2 million in additional military aid may be made available only when the Secretary of State reports that:

• The Philippine government is implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions.

• The Philippine government is implementing a policy of promoting military personnel who demonstrate professionalism and respect for human rights, and is investigating and prosecuting military personnel and others who have been credibly alleged to have committed extrajudicial executions or other violations of human rights. – With Reinir Padua