Philippine Human Rights Act

Philippine Human Rights Act

This bill imposes limitations on providing assistance to the police or military of the Philippines.

No federal funds may be used to provide such assistance until the Philippines government has taken certain actions, including (1) investigating and successfully prosecuting members of its military and police forces who have violated human rights, (2) withdrawing the military from domestic policing activities, and (3) establishing that it effectively protects the rights of journalists and civil society activists.

The President shall also direct U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to vote against providing loans to the police or military of the Philippines.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8313 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8313

  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

                           September 17, 2020

    Ms. Wild (for herself, Mr. Costa, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Haaland, Ms. 
Schakowsky, Mr. Khanna, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Rush, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
 Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Norton, Mr. Raskin, 
Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Omar, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Ocasio-
 Cortez, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, and Ms. Bonamici) 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 U.S. State Department's 2019 Human Rights Report on 
        the Philippines states ``There were numerous reports of 
        government security agencies and their informal allies 
        committed arbitrary or unlawful killings in connection with the 
        government directed campaign against illegal drugs.''. The 
        Report goes on to state, ``Government mechanisms to investigate 
        and punish abuse and corruption in the security forces were 
        poorly resourced and remained largely ineffective''. The United 
        Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in its 
        annual report for the 44th Session of the Human Rights Council 
        concluded that there is ``long-standing overemphasis on public 
        order and national security at the expense of human rights has 
        become more acute in recent years, and there are concerns that 
        the vilification of dissent is being increasingly 
        institutionalized and normalized in ways that will be very 
        difficult to reverse;''.
            (2) The United States continues to provide support via 
        security assistance to the administration of Philippines 
        President Duterte, whose brutal Drug War and other campaigns 
        have taken the lives of over 30,000 urban poor, peasants, 
        workers, indigenous and environmental activists as well as 
        human rights defenders, religious leaders, and peace advocates.
            (3) Government agencies of the Philippines report 4,948 
        suspected drug users and dealers, including 60 children, died 
        during police operations from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 
        2018, and according to Human Rights Watch, the Philippine 
        National Police (PNP) have reported 22,983 deaths remain 
        classified as ``homicides under investigation'' since the Drug 
        War began.
            (4) As of April 2020, the Alliance for Advancement of 
        People's Rights (``Karapatan'') has documented 308 
        extrajudicial political killings, 439 victims of attempted 
        politically motivated killings, 214 victims of torture, around 
        2,500 victims of illegal arrests, over 100,000 victims of 
        threats and harassments, and nearly half a million internal 
        refugees under the Duterte administration.
            (5) More than 16 mayors and vice mayors have been killed 
        since President Duterte took office, and Duterte has personally 
        spoke blatantly in press conferences advocating for the killing 
        of Catholic bishops during a period where three Catholic 
        priests were assassinated.
            (6) Labor leaders and legislators have also been amongst 
        those attacked by the administration, with 30 labor leaders 
        killed, 3 labor leaders being held as political prisoners, and 
        Senator Leila De Lima who has been a staunch critic of the drug 
        war killings having been detained for over 2 years.
            (7) The international NGO Global Witness has declared the 
        Philippines to be the deadliest country in the world for 
        defenders of human rights, the environment, and natural 
        resources, with 13 environmentalists, 54 indigenous people, and 
        207 farmers and peasants extrajudicially killed since Duterte 
        took office in 2016. Included in the targeting of environmental 
        activists was American citizen, Brandon Lee, who was subjected 
        to an assassination attempt on August 6, 2019. Brandon 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.
            (8) It is widely recognized that the Duterte administration 
        silences dissent and the press. The State Department's 2019 
        Report states, ``Government harassment of some media outlets 
        occurred, however, and polls suggested many Filipinos consider 
        it dangerous to publish information critical of the 
        administration.'' 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 Duterte administration, Times Magazine's 
        Person of the Year 2018 recipient, and founder of the digital 
        news site Rappler was convicted of cyber libel in June 2020. In 
        July 2020, the Duterte administration signed the ``Anti-
        Terrorism Act of 2020'' into law. Countless Filipino and 
        international commentators, including fifty U.S. 
        Representatives have warned that the law will be used to 
        further target critics and silence dissent.
            (9) The United States continues to arm 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.

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, 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.
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