Sanctions on the Philippines?
>> Tuesday, August 15, 2017
PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz
Perry Diaz
In a move that
infuriated President Rodrigo Duterte, the U.S. House Committee on Foreign
Affairs’ Human Rights Commission held a hearing on Duterte’s “War on Drugs”
campaign. At the center of the investigation is the allegation that
Duterte’s administration has authorized extrajudicial killings of people
suspected of peddling or using illegal drugs.
According
to the Philippine National Police (PNP), more than 7,000 deaths have been
reported from July 1, 2016 to January 21, 2017. The killings were
carried out by both police and unknown vigilantes.
Human
Rights groups have criticized Duterte’s method of eradicating the drug problem,
which targeted the poor. They cited lack of due process.
During his
opening remarks at the Human Rights Commission hearing, U.S. congressman James
McGovern, co-chair of the commission, said: “We should be clear what an
extrajudicial killing or execution is: It is the purposeful killing of a person
by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial
proceeding.” “No arrest. No warrant. No judge. No
jury. Simply, murder.” [Source: ABS-CBN News]
McGovern
added that he does not support Duterte's planned visit to the White House in
October. “President Duterte does not seem to have high regard for
human rights. I certainly believe, very strongly, that a man of a human rights
record like Duterte should not be invited to the White House.” “No
other country comes to mind where people are assassinated in the name of
fighting drugs and leaders brag about it,” he said. “If he comes, I
will lead the protest. We ought to be on the side of advocating for human
rights, not explaining them away.” [Source: ABS-CBN News]
Duterte fights back
In response
to McGovern’s remarks, Duterte said: “There will never be a time that I
will go to America during my term, or even thereafter. So what makes that guy
think I'll go to America? I've seen America, and it's lousy.”
Duterte
told reporters that he, too, could investigate the U.S.’s history of human
rights violations. In reference to the Battle of Bud Dajo in the
island of Jolo, which happened more than a century ago – in 1906 – Duterte
reportedly said, “You're investigating me and the internal affairs of my
country? I'm investigating you, and I will investigate you, and I will expose
it to the world what you did to the Filipino, especially to the Moro
Filipino.”
He said
that American troops killed hundreds of Moro people in their attempt to control
Mindanao. Congressman Randy Hultgren, the Republican co-chair of the Human
Rights Commission, said that the U.S. Congress is obligated to not only
advocate for but to defend human rights. “We need to maintain bilateral
cooperation with our ally without jeopardizing human rights in the
Philippines,” he said.
Defenders of human rights
Ellecer
Carlos, one of the many witnesses at the hearing, said, “Duterte has
effectively put in place a de facto social cleansing policy with his war on
drugs affecting the most vulnerable and impoverished sections of Philippine
society. He has effectively defined a particular section of Philippine society
as inhuman and worthy of elimination.” Carlos, who represents the In
Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) of the Philippines,
urged the U.S. Congress to call on Duterte to stop the killings.
Another
witness, Matthew Wells of Amnesty International (AI), said he has been part of
an AI team that has investigated the murderous campaign against drugs in the
Philippines.
As reported
in the news, Wells said, “Local government officials, at the behest of the
police, draw up what is known as a ‘drug watch list’ that purports to identify
people who use or sell drugs in that area. The vast majority of victims come
from the poorest segments of Philippine society. Inclusion is at times based on
hearsay, community rumors, or personal rivalry, with little or no verification.
These ‘drug watch lists’ are then often turned into kill lists. Police
units usually rely on these lists to identify targets. AI’s investigation found
that, in at least some areas of the Philippines, police officers have received
significant under-the-table payments for ‘encounters’ in which alleged drug
offenders are killed. Payments ranged from P8,000 for killing a
person who uses drugs to P15,000 for killing a small-scale ‘pusher’.” [Source:
Philippine Star]
Meanwhile,
the U.S. Senate is working on a bill introduced by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio
(Republican) and Ben Cardin (Democrat) last May. Known as the
Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act, it would
“restrict the exportation of certain defense articles by the United States to
the Philippine National Police, support human rights and civil society
organizations in the Republic of the Philippines, and report on sources of
narcotics entering that country.”
Rubio
said, “America and the Philippines have an important and enduring
alliance, which is why the growing number of extrajudicial killings as part of
the Philippine National Police’s ‘war on drugs’ is deeply alarming.” “This is
not the right way to conduct an anti-drug campaign, and our legislation
reflects our sincere desire to work with the Philippines to support human
rights, expose narcotics networks emanating from mainland China and other
countries, and use a public health approach to responsibly counter the dangers
that drugs pose to our societies.” [Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations]
Cardin
said, “President Duterte has unleashed a campaign of extrajudicial
killings in his country that has horrified the international community. Mr.
Duterte must handle criminal issues through the rule of law and allow drug
addicts access to the public health services and treatment they deserve. In the
absence of such actions, this legislation is clear in its support for the
Filipino people and the importance of our alliance, but also the consequences
if Mr. Duterte's actions continue.” [Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations]
With all
these concerns aired by members of the U.S. Congress, one wonders what could
the U.S. possibly do to “encourage” Duterte to end his bloody “War on Drugs”
that has violated international human rights norms?
Sanctions
The U.S.
has punished rogue countries like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela with
economic sanctions. On August 5, 2017, the United Nations Security
Council unanimously approved a U.S.-drafted resolution that bans North Korean
exports of coal, iron ore, lead, lead ore, and seafood. It also bans
new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint
ventures. These new sanctions could slash by a third of North
Korea’s $3 billion annual export revenue.
A week ago,
the U.S. government has imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela’s president
Nicolas Maduro, after the election of a new legislative body to redraft Venezuela’s
constitution, which the U.S. described as a “sham.”
Then the
U.S. Congress passed a veto-proof legislation that imposes sanctions on Russia,
Iran, and North Korea. It also prevents President Trump from
suspending new and existing sanctions.
The
question is: At the rate the U.S. Congress is seriously taking its role as
defender of human rights, when will Duterte get into the crosshairs of the U.S.
Congress? Will the Philippines soon join the exclusive club of
sanctioned countries? If so, what would the economic cost to the
country be? (PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
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