ECUMENICAL VOICE FOR PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

MEDIA RELEASE

2007 March 15

First-hand Account on the US Senate Hearing
by the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines

We are the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines, a delegation of Roman Catholic and Protestant bishops and clergy, Christian and Muslim human rights defenders all working for the defense and promotion of human rights in our country.

Our church partners, countrymen and women and overseas friends in the US have raised deep concern over the human rights crisis in the Philippines. They have invited us to visit the United States to talk with ecumenical leaders, legislators, government officials, faith communities in the hope of deepening their awareness about the extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and other forms of political repression obtaining in our country today.

Taking off from the testimonies and the documentation we presented, our partners spoke to some members of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Foreign Relation Committee of the Senate and the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives.

They asked for a review of the policies on development and military assistance of the George Bush administration as to whether such policies exacerbate instead of reduce social and economic inequities or aggravate rather than stop the prevalent violations of human rights.

We believe that the alarming spate of killings under the present dispensation in the Philippines must be raised internationally because the government is required to comply with its obligations under international law and rescind its national security program which has the effect of legitimizing the killing of innocent civilians.

We had briefings in the State Department, and the House of Representatives.

The Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard the following testimonies:

• Mr Eric G. John, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Department of State
• Mr Jonathan Farrar, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
• Mr. T. Kumar, advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific, Amnesty International USA
• Mr. G. Eugene Martin, Executive Director, Philippine Facilitation Project US Institute of Peace
• Bishop Eliezer Pascua, general secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and
• Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez, General Secretary of KARAPATAN.

Senator Boxer opened the hearing by quoting heavily from the Alston press statement.

She accepted the 1st three calls submitted by the delegation through Bishop Pascua; commended these by saying “these hit it right on the head” and actually asked him to repeat the calls for the record.

She admonished the Philippine government for sending military and police officials to the hearing and did not allow them to enter the hearing; said “you do not send military and police officials to intimidate the witnesses”.

She also said that given the large military assistance to the Philippines, these should not be used for extrajudicial killing but instead “we should tie some strings around military aid”. Also mentioned that her constituents are complaining about the use of government funds to kill people in the Philippines. “It is important that we don’t have blood in our hands,” she said.

She also mentioned that “we do not want to train them to kill their own people or commit human rights violations” after the Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric John mentioned that the US State Department has been providing training to Philippine soldiers

Aside from the above opinions, she stated the following:

1. That it would be good if international observers could go to the next elections in the Philippines after G. Eugene Martin said that there is an expected upsurge in election related violence
2. That this is not the 1st hearing on the human rights situation in the Philippines but will could be followed by a series of such hearings
3. Thanked Bishop Pascua and Marie Enriquez for coming forward and appearing before the subcommittee given the dangers involved

Of particular interest was the statement of G. Eugene Martin that: “Candidates from left-wing political parties will be particular targets”. National Security adviser Norberto Gonzalez stated on March 8 that such candidates must not be allowed to win seats in the congress. The Gonzales view that party-list candidates ‘are under the direct influence of the communist party’ gives a potential hunting license to military and local officials who agree with him.

The hearing was also attended by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak) and Senator James Webb (D-Va).

The members of our delegation include: Ms. Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdes, general secretary of National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP); Bp Eliezer M. Pascua, general secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP); Bishop Solito Toquero, resident bishop of the United Methodist Church-Manila Episcopal Area (UMC-MEA); The Most Rev. Deogracias Iñiguez, the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan; Fr. Jose P. Dizon, executive director of the Workers Assistance Center, Inc. (WAC); Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary general of Karapatan; Atty. Edre Olalia, of the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL; Athea Peñalosa, information and publicity coordinator of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC); Amirah Ali Lidasan, secretary-general and co-founder of the Moro-Christian People’s Alliance.

REFERENCE:

Rev. Fr. Rex Reyes

Officer-in-charge, NCCP

Tel: 929-37-45, 925-17-65, mobile: 09212076707

Email: padirexnccphilippines.org, librarynccphilippines.org