June 29, 2009
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
Dear Senator Boxer,
We as young Filipinos and allies are writing to you on behalf of our
organization AnakBayan, a Filipino youth group dedicated to the cause
of social justice. Since its founding in 2005, AnakBayan has been
tirelessly serving the community of Los Angeles to ensure that youth
have a voice in our communities and partake in the improvement of the
larger society around us. Thus it is with great urgency that we deliver
this message to you that Filipino youth do not want one cent of US tax
dollars allocated towards military aid to the Philippines.
Your key role in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last year
helped deter the US funding of the Philippine’s military contingent
upon its cleaning up of its human rights record and sent a clear
message to the Philippine government that such abuses must stop.
We ask that you continue taking a stand with humanity by demanding that
the US Senate, and especially the Senate Appropriations Committee, not
allow any US tax dollars to be spent on the Philippine military, and
that the Philippine government must put an end to its human rights
violations and bring justice to all those who have suffered at the hand
of human rights abuses incurred by the Philippine military.
One of these human rights violations is the first case of abduction
of a US citizen of Filipino descent, human rights advocate Melissa
Roxas, by armed men. It is not by coincidence that her case is amongst
thousands of documented cases of kidnappings, torture, assassinations,
and other abuses that have not been investigated by the Philippine
government and thus the culprits continue to run free without
punishment. Cases like these are well documented such as in the 2007
report on extrajudicial killings by United Nations Special Rapporteur
Philip Alston, which confirms the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
as the main perpetrators and holds the Philippine government
accountable for attempting to cover up these violations and
perpetuating a culture of impunity.
In calling for justice for all human rights victims in the Philippines, we
also ask that you demand that the Philippine military fully cooperate
with the Writ of Amparo proceedings as well any investigation by the
Commission on Human Rights in the case of Melissa Roxas.
We hope for your continued support of the Filipino people’s right to live free from fear and repression.
Best regards,
Members of AnakBayan Los Angeles