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By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter
THE United States is offering a lower military
aid to the Philippines with the continued problem of human rights
abuses hounding the Arroyo government.
Reports said that the US State Department had
requested for a smaller allocation for the Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) and the International Military Exchange Training (IMET)
programs to the Philippines, with the problems of human rights still
unresolved.
According to a television report aired by ABS-CBN,
US officials claimed that funds, training, intelligence and
logistical support for Philippine troops in the frontline against
two major groups labeled as terrorist organizations—the Abu Sayyaf
Group (ASG) and New People’s Army (NPA)—were effective and
successful.
However, the same report said that the US State
Department is also offering lower military aid to the Philippines
for 2008, with only $27.7 million, or about 10 percent lower than
what it committed, or nearly $30 million, for 2008.
The said amount will be used to fund the Armed
Forces of the Philippines and enable it to procure everything from
jungle uniforms, machine guns and Huey gunships, among others.
While lower than the original commitment of $30
million that the military got in 2006, it is still significantly
higher than the $11.1 million the US State Department sought for the
Philippines.
Human rights abuses cited
The aid reduction is largely the result of the
outcry against human rights abuses in the Philippines.
In March last year, a panel chaired by
California Senator Barbara Boxer heard Philippine religious leaders
and human rights activists paint a dark picture of extrajudicial
killings and abuses allegedly perpetrated by Philippine security
forces.
The FMF aid was recommended for reduction to
$11.1 million in fiscal year (FY) 2008 (which starts in October),
from $29.7 million in FY 2006. It is used to pay for the procurement
of military equipment from the US, including surplus from the
American military stockpile.
The State Department also proposed to slash the
IMET Program aid from $2.8 million in FY 2006 to $1.5 in FY 2008.
It also plans to reduce its International
Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement program to the Philippine
National Police to $1.1 million in FY 2008 from almost $2 million in
FY 2006.
The IMET program pays for the cost of sending
and training foreign military officials, including Filipinos, to the
US.
In a telephone interview with The Manila Times,
US Embassy Spokesman Rebecca Thompson said that the cuts are still
being debated and discussed in the US Congress.
“The United States legislators’ process is
quite complicated, so it’s always a good idea to double check that
budget figures are final,” she said.
Foreign Affairs Spokesman Claro Cristobal,
meanwhile, said that as far as they are concerned, they have yet to
receive an official word from the Philippine Embassy in Washington
on the matter. He assured that if changes occur, they will quickly
inform the government and the public.
“We have not gotten an official word from our
embassy in Washington,” he said.
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