BY JENNIE L. ILUSTRE

WASHINGTON – Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the foreign relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said she would link US military aid to the Philippines to "transparency and results" of Philippine government action on extra-judicial killings.

The Democrat from California, presiding at the subcommittee hearing Wednesday afternoon (Thursday in Manila), said, "For too long the government of the Philippines has not taken sufficient action to address extrajudicial killings and bring those responsible to justice."

Manila has to act "or these funds aren’t just gonna come," she said at hearing’s end nearly two hours later. "We have a lot more leverage. That is one of the points of this hearing."

Among the six witnesses in the hearing were Bishop Eliezer Pascua, general secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and Marie Hilao-Enriquez, general secretary of Karapatan, a human rights group.

Pascua urged the US Congress to "ensure that any future US military appropriations and economic and official development assistance to the Philippine government" be linked to adherence to human rights and international laws.

US aid for the Philippines in 2006 amounted to $170 million.

Pascua and Enriquez led a delegation of human rights advocates to urge the US Congress and American churches to exert pressure on President Arroyo to put an end to the killings.

Enriquez said that since 2001, there have been 836 documented extra-judicial killings of farmers, priests and lay advocates, human rights activists, lawyers and media people.

Joining Boxer in making a "pledge" to work together on the issue were Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virginia), who visited Manila as former US secretary of the Navy and expressed affection for the Philippines and the Filipinos, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Republican-Alaska), ranking minority subcommittee member.

Eric G. John, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said, "Over the past one to two years… we have seen a troubling increase in reports of extrajudicial killings."

He agreed with Boxer that the Philippines’ efforts were "not enough." But he added that President Arroyo, by making a commitment to halt the killings, was "off to a good start."

This view was shared by Jonathan Farrar, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, citing Arroyo’s directive to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Both Boxer and State department officials stressed the Philippines is a very important US treaty ally in the anti-terror war.

Boxer said she was "pleased" US Ambassador Kristie Kenney has offered US support "to stop these murders and bring those guilty to justice." She asked the officials if Arroyo had accepted the offer, and got an affirmative reply.

‘NOT OPTIMISTIC’

Boxer said the six-page testimony of Ambassador Willy C. Gaa would be included as part of the day’s record.

Gaa said President Arroyo has ordered the departments of justice and of national defense to coordinate with the Commission on Human Rights in forming a fact-finding body. Its task: "To delve deeper into the matter of possible involvement of military personnel in unexplained killings, filing the corresponding charges against, and prosecute the culpable parties."

"I’m not optimistic about the short-term chances of stopping the extrajudicial killings," said Gene Martin, citing the May 14 elections. Martin is executive director of the Philippine Facilitation Project at the US Institute of Peace, an independent body funded by the US Congress, and deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Manila from 1996 to 1999.

Also testifying at the hearing was T. Kumar, advocacy director for Amnesty International.

Boxer said the report of UN rapporteur Philip Alston noting "a culture of impunity" in the Philippines would also be incorporated in the day’s transcript.

Boxer, who visited the Philippines during the 1986 People Power days, expressed dismay over the killings.

She said California has a million Filipino Americans who have expressed concern over the issue. There are three million people of Philippine ancestry living or working in the US.

At the hearing, the Filipino delegation released its Philippine human rights report.

Earlier, as US-based advocates held a morning vigil at the Embassy here, the delegation also presented the report to the House committee on foreign relations, chaired by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-California).

The delegation also submitted its findings at the March 12-14 International Ecumenical Conference on Human Rights in the Philippines, called by US church leaders to address the human rights situation in the Philippines.

ACTUAL NEEDS

In Manila, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye dismissed the possibility that grants and assistance from the US, including military aid, would be imperiled by results of the sub-committee’s inquiry.

"I think our security arrangements are much stronger than that and this assistance will be granted on the basis of actual needs of Philippine troops," he said.

Bunye reiterated that the government condemns the killings and is prepared to do whatever is necessary to put an end to these.

"I believe the Philippine government is sincere in putting a stop, trying to put a stop to all of these but as I said we need the cooperation of all the stakeholders for us to really move in solving these cases," he said.

The group Ecumenical Voice on Peace and Human Rights in the Philippine Church urged the US to pressure President Arroyo to take concrete actions to stop the extra-judicial killings.

The call was supported by, among others, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, United Methodist Church, Workers Assistance Center, Moro-Christian People’s Alliance , Counsels for the Defense of Liberties, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and the Children’s Rehabilitation Center.

SECURITY POLICY

The group submitted a report to the US Congress titled ‘Let the Stones Cry Out: An Ecumenical Report on Human Rights in the Philippines and a Call to Action."

In its report, the group also called for a review of the US policy on supporting the Arroyo government in exchange for cooperation in the US global war on terror.

The report also asked the US to call on the Arroyo government to:

* Comply with obligations under international law and rescind its national security policy under its counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism campaign.

* Ensure that any future US military appropriation and economic and official development assistance be conditioned to strict adherence to international laws and standards of human rights and good governance and on the demonstrated promotion of human rights.

* Conduct an investigation, review and reexamination of US security cooperation and military assistance and aid to the Philippine government and ensure that this does not support the national security policy that exacerbates the violations of human rights including the killing of church people and human rights activists.

‘STOP AID’

The party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa said it wished the US Congress will ask financial institutions and international agencies to refrain from extending assistance to the Philippines until the Arroyo government acts seriously on the political killings.

"As for suspending US military assistance to the Philippines, we would rather that such type of aid be scrapped altogether," said PM’s Renato Magtubo.

Re-electionist Sen. Joker Arroyo opposed the sending of representatives to the investigation, saying the US government has no right to meddle in the country’s internal affairs.

"Why should we explain it to the US Congress if Malacañang thinks it has done what it has to do (in solving the killings)," said Arroyo, who is running under the administration slate Team Unity.

Unless government has a "guilt complex," it would best for the President to just ignore the US Senate investigation and continue what it is doing to solve the political killings, he said.

"If they were invited, so what? Don’t honor the invitation, period," he said.

JUNKET

Senator Arroyo warned the trip could only be perceived as a "junket," noting that even Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo is volunteering to participate in the US Senate investigation despite being one of the most avid critics of alleged US interference in internal affairs of the Philippines.

"Siguro they just want to go on a junket," he said.

Ocampo is subject of arrest warrant issued against him last week for multiple murder.

Another re-electionist in the TU slate, Edgardo Angara, said while the US Senate has no right to meddle in the issue of political killings, he finds nothing wrong with the sending of representatives.

"That is the best way to refute them (US government). We should attend the hearing and explain our stand. Kapag kasi nakipagsagutan tayo ng nakipagsagutan sa mga statement nila lalong walang mangyayari," he said.

Another TU candidate, Rep. Prospero Pichay, said the investigation is "an outright interference in the domestic concerns of a sovereign country."

INTRUSION IN RP AFFAIRS

Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel said the issue of extra-judicial killings should be solved by Filipinos themselves so that they can stamp out the Philippines’ "dreadful image as a most violent and dangerous country."

Pimentel said it is embarrassing that the United Nations, United States and the European Union have to step in and conduct their own probe because the government has failed to stop the killings and to identify and prosecute their perpetrators.

"Although I believe the investigation being conducted by the UN and foreign governments will help in solving the summary executions, there is nothing to be excited about it because ideally, they should not be allowed to intrude in the internal affairs of sovereign countries like ours," he said.

He said it would be foolhardy for the Arroyo government to underestimate the importance of the US congressional inquiry, considering that the human rights situation carries a lot of weight in Washington’s evaluation of military and development aid to other countries. – With Jocelyn Montemayor, Gerard Naval and Wendell Vigilia