Manila wants conditionalities on US foreign military aid lifted

Manila: Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario is urging the United States Government to lift conditionalities tied to a portion of its military aid to the Philippines.

A statement issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) quoted Del Rosario as saying during a lecture before the Heritage Foundation last May 2 in Washington, that the US Government should do away with conditions set in 2008 tied with the release of its Foreign Military Financing (FMF) allocation for the Philippines.

Del Rosario said the Aquino government had already complied with the conditions and thus is entitled to the release of the fund, which amounts to some $3 million.

During the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the US imposed conditions on the release of a portion of the FMF allocation for the country until the government take the following steps. These include; Taking effective measures to prosecute those responsible for extrajudicial executions (EJE) and strengthen government institutions working to eliminate EJEs; implementing a policy of promoting military personnel who demonstrate professionalism and respect for human rights, and do away with acts of intimidation against members of legal organisations who advocate for human rights.

"Even our harshest critics acknowledge that there has been a significant decline in the number of extrajudicial killings," the Secretary remarked.

He added, "President Benigno Aquino's family itself was a victim of a most heinous human rights crime since his father who was then in the political opposition was assassinated in 1983. For this reason, President Aquino has taken bold and resolute action to break the culture of impunity and to institutionalize greater sensitivity and full respect for human rights."

Del Rosario also pointed to the Philippine ratification, two weeks ago, of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Under these two treaties, thes Philippines is compelled to create a National Prevention Mechanism that will conduct independent and unannounced visits to places where people are deprived of their liberty.

He also said that while the Aquino government has made major investments in the upgrade of Philippine defence equipment, supplementary foreign military financing from the U.S. remains a very important component of our effort to develop our external defense capabilities.

"While fully recognizing the constraints posed by recent congressional limits placed on defence spending," the Secretary noted, with concern, the shrinking allocation for the Philippines of the U.S.' FMF pie for East Asia and the Pacific.

Del Rosario contrasted the U.S. State Department's 2006 FMF request for the Philippines, which accounted for over 70 per cent of the total for East Asia, that has fallen to 35 per cent for fiscal year 2012.

Assistant Secretary Andrew Shapiro of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs committed to double the initial $15 million in FMF for the Philippines to $30 million for FY 2012. He also added that the State Department would explore additional creative funding streams for the Philippines