Thomas: US assistance to AFP on hold

MANILA, Philippines - US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. recently bared that the US Congress continues to withhold a portion of US assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) until the government meets certain conditions related to solving and prosecuting cases of unexplained killings. 

Thomas informed human rights advocates in the country about the withholding of US aid to the Philippines during a roundtable discussion with representatives of human rights groups at the US embassy in Manila last Oct. 21.

The US envoy met Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) chairman Teodoro de Mesa, Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) project coordinator Ma. Aurora Fajardo, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines representative Jonal Javier, Alternative Law Group (ALG) project director Marlon Manuel, Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearances (FIND) co-chair Nilda Sevilla, FIND secretary-general Wilma Tizon, Ateneo Human Rights Center executive director Ray Paolo Santiago, Philippine Human Rights Information Center executive director Nymia Simbulan, and lawyer Al Parreño.

Thomas said the US embassy was encouraged by the pledge made by President Aquino in his 2010 State of the Nation Address to curb unexplained killings in the country. 

He said that the 2010 US Department of State Human Rights Report on the Philippines included the alleged killings that occurred under the Aquino administration and expressed concern regarding the slow pace of investigations and prosecutions of past cases. 

Thomas said that from 2007 to 2010, the US government extended $3.5 million in grants to the Philippine government and non-government organizations to strengthen their capacity to address human rights violations. 

“The US government will continue to press for progress on addressing past cases and the ongoing problem of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines,” Thomas said.

The human rights groups’ representatives informed Thomas of their ongoing projects and suggested measures that could significantly improve human rights conditions in the Philippines.