MANILA – “A very wild suggestion.”
This would how Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque describe the proposed legislation by an American lawmaker which seeks to prevent the funding for security forces in the Philippines due to its alleged human rights violation.
President Rodrigo Duterte is confident that the American government recognizes the importance of its security alliance with the Philippines, Roque said.
“Hindi natin pinanghihimasukan ‘yung mga desisyon ng mga soberanyang bansa,” the spokesperson said. “Kung gusto nilang gawin, gawin nila ‘yan.”
“Pero kampante nga tayo. Sa tingin ko kinikilala naman ng Estados Unidos ang halaga ng Pilipinas sa pagiging partner niya pagdating din sa mga usaping national security ng Estados Unidos mismo,” he added.
Rep. Susan Wild (Pennsylvania) introduced the Philippine Human Rights Act on Sept. 17, citing the Duterte administration’s “brutal regime using the pretext of the so-called anti-terrorism law to ramp up efforts targeting labor organizers, workers, and political opponents.”
“Hayaan na po natin gumulong ang proseso sa Estados Unidos pero iisa lang po ‘yan out of ilang hundreds of congressmen and women ang nasa US Congress,” Roque said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, said if the measure is approved by US congress, it will not only be a loss to the Philippines but also to the US considering that “a major part of the security assistance being extended to the Philippines is used to combat terrorism.”
“And since the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is still existing, they may have to resolve that as a legal issue in their deliberations,” said Lacson, chairperson of the Senate committee on national defense.
In June, the Philippines suspended for six months the abrogation of the VFA, which governs the presence of US soldiers conducting military exercises in the country./PN
