WESTERN PRESSURE | Western states deny entry visa to army, police generals

December 27, 2019 , 10:19 AM

By Manny Mogato

DECEMBER 27, 2019 – Active-duty and retired military and police generals closely associated with President Rodrigo Duterte or had been previously assigned in Mindanao have been denied entry visas in some western countries, including the United States and Canada.

The travel ban was imposed long before Washington has imposed the sanction in a US Senate Resolution that was approved when US President Donald Trump signed into law its $1.4 trillion federal budget for the next fiscal year ending 2020, News5 Digital learned from a retired 3-star general who was denied visa to Canada early this year.

“I was made to explain about my previous assignments in Mindanao, but the embassy in Manila did not act on my visa renewal application for weeks until I withdrew my application,” said the army general who served as an area commander during the Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III administration. “There was no explanation given. The agency processing the visa said it was up to the embassy to decide on my application.”

The visa denial happened at a time when the president was attacking some Western countries which supported a resolution initiated by Iceland at the UN Human Rights Council this year.

The retired general, who was assigned in Maguindanao after the mass murders of 58 people, including journalists, said he was asked details about his assignment in Mindanao to determine whether he had been involved in human rights violations. He had served directly under former president Fidel Ramos.

“Pati visa application ng wife ko sumabit din,” he said, adding he and his family had been in Canada several times where his siblings and relatives have migrated. “I was there when the garbage issue was in the news. So, I was really surprised why the sudden change in policy.”

Another two-star army general, who also in the joint staff during the Aquino administration, was also denied visa in Canada. He was even interviewed by a consular official at the embassy about his previous assignment in Davao City.

He was asked about the Davao Death Squad when Duterte was still mayor as he was assigned as army task force commander in the city as a colonel at that time. The embassy had also set aside documents about human rights training and programs he had done as commander in the field.

The US government also revoked visas of several police generals, including some active-duty officers, who were associated with Duterte after he carried out a brutal and bloody war against illegal drugs in 2016.

Western governments have not put out an official list of politicians, soldiers and police officers covered by the travel ban.

Canada has not made an official statement about travel ban to Filipino officials. But, there are speculations that the visa denial is linked to the country’s human rights situation after Ottawa imposed restrictions on the use of helicopters it was buying.

Duterte has scrapped the deal and it signed a deal with a Polish manufacturer to deliver Black Hawk.

It was not known how many political allies, military and police officials are in the list. But they include retired officials and those who are still in active-duty service.

Duterte might not be included in the ban after Trump’s security adviser invited in early November all 10 Southeast Asian leaders to a summit in the US during the first quarter of 2020. ASEAN leaders have to respond yet to the invitation.

Last week, a senior US senator has informed detained opposition lawmaker Leila de Lima, that Washington has imposed a visa ban and asset freeze on personalities involved in the persecution of the sitting Filipino senator after Trump signed into law the US federal budget.

The sanctions were contained in section 7015 of the appropriations act and the Philippines was lumped with other countries which are known human rights violators, like Russia, North Korea and Syria.

It could also potentially affect the US military, economic and social assistance to the Philippines next year. The government has requested for nearly $160 million in aid, more than a third of it will go to military financing, education and training, counter-terrorism and international narcotics control and law enforcement (INCLE).

During the Arroyo administration, Washington has deducted substantial amount in aid money to punish her government for widespread human rights abuse, like killings of activists, lawyers and journalists in 2007 to 2009. It was lifted during the Aquino administration.

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