MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Philippines
13.9.2016 - (2016/2880(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Ignazio Corrao, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Marco Zanni, Rolandas Paksas, Isabella Adinolfi, Beatrix von Storch on behalf of the EFDD Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0990/2016
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the Philippines,
- having regard to the Joint Communication “The EU and ASEAN: a partnership with a strategic purpose”, with a special reference to the section 4.2 “human rights”,
– having regard to the EU-Philippines partnership cooperation agreement,
– having regard to the commitments on human rights already included in the Country Strategy Paper Philippines 2007-2013 (especially in the section 2.3 “Cross-cutting issues: human rights, gender, governance”),
– having regard to the Constitution of the Philippines,
– having regard to the EU-Philippines Human Rights Dialogue,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
– having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. Whereas the Philippines are a strategic partner for the European Union in the Asia Pacific, with a long and fruitful history of bilateral cooperation;
B. Whereas the Constitution of the Philippines, notably its article III, Section 1, says “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws” and Section 14 says “no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law”;
C. Whereas, democracy, rule of law, human rights and dialogue with civil society organisations have always been an important part of the bilateral talks between the EU and the Philippines;
D. Whereas in the Philippines in the last months there has been many cases of killings of people, mainly during police operations involving drugs and drug dealers;
E. Whereas this increase in deaths has created many concerns in human rights activists, NGOs and foreign governments;
F. Whereas the need to fight against crime and drugs should be done according to the rule of law and the provision of the Philippine Criminal laws, avoiding the use of extra judicial killings and of any other kind of extra-legal practice, action or initiative;
G. Whereas in a developed and mature democracy it is only the judiciary that decides on punishment for crimes, after ensuring a fair trial, preventing any extrajudicial measure as the alternative to law enforcement;
H. Whereas the fight against crime and drugs should be addressed in a comprehensive way, without the exclusive use of violence and police operations;
I. Whereas the development of bilateral relations between the EU and the Philippines should also aim to support the development of rule of law and democracy, and a fair justice for all the citizens;
J. Whereas some of the last declarations of the Government of the Philippines about the fight against crime and its possible solutions have caused concerns in many (national and international) NGOs and foreign governments;
K. Whereas since the 25 December 2014, the Philippines have enjoyed enhanced trade preferences with the EU under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences plus (GSP+);
L. Whereas the negotiations for an EU-Philippines Free Trade Agreement were launched on 22 December 2015 and a first round took place in May 2016.
1. Is worried by the negative evolution of the internal situation of human rights in the Philippines, and especially by the increasing amount of deaths following the repression of violent crimes;
2. Is deeply worried by the spreading of extrajudicial killings and similar practices in the Philippines;
3. Calls on the Government of the Philippines to openly repeal any kind of extrajudicial killing and to instruct its Security Authorities and its judiciary to deeply investigate on these practices in order to stop them as soon as possible;
4. Calls on the Government of the Philippines to protect the freedom of expression, to avoid any direct or indirect pressure or influence on journalists, press and NGOs, providing them all the possible information about the current developments on human rights and the fight against crime that is taking place in the Philippines;
5. Deplores the use any method, practice or behaviour to fight against crime that is not codified in the Philippine criminal laws and the Constitution;
6. Deplores the use of “vigilante” squads and other kind of “private police” forces to actively fight against crime;
7. Calls on the Government of the Philippines to increase its efforts against crime through some specific and comprehensive policies and programmes that should include also prevention and rehabilitation, without an exclusive focus on violent repression;
8. Calls on the Government of the Philippines to review and reform the laws on firearms, the criminal justice system, the police and security authorities and to root out corruption;
9. Calls on the Government of the Philippines to continue its efforts on the peace process with national terrorist groups (such as the New People’s Army or Abu Sayyaf) in order to eradicate these threats;
10. Remembers that the improving of the human rights situation in the Philippines is a priority of both the EU and the Government of the Philippines, and it is an important basis for the development of fruitful bilateral relations;
11. Urges the Government of the Philippines and the Philippines’ law enforcement authorities to avoid a further escalation in mysterious deaths and killings across the country;
12. Considers that the EU should continue providing financial support and capacity-building assistance to the Philippines for poverty alleviation, social inclusion, respect for human rights and the rule of law, the promotion of peace, reconciliation, security, fight against crime and judicial reform;
13. Instructs the EEAS to monitor closely the situation of human rights in the Philippines, and to report regularly on this issue;
14. Reminds that the Philippines are an important partner for the European Union, and that a deepening of the bilateral economic and trade ties should be accompanied by an improvement of the internal situation regarding human rights, including the immediate stop of any kind of illegal or extrajudicial killing;
15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and to the Government and Parliament of the Philippines.