‘Ties with Canada should include rights protection’

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper AP PHOTO/IVAN SEKRETAREV

The forging of stronger ties between the Philippines and Canada should include a commitment to push for greater human rights protection in the country, militant lawmakers said Sunday.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said the Canadian officials, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who came on a visit, should raise concerns with President Aquino over the extrajudicial killings and other rights violations taking place in the Philippines.

The Prime Minister, who arrived in the country Friday and left Sunday, pledged to bring more Canadian investments into the Philippines, following a meeting with President Aquino.

The two countries also forged a deal to help the Philippines acquire more military equipment to defend its territory.

In a statement, Colmenares said the Canadian officials should do their part to ensure that Canadian firms in the Philippines, particularly the mining corporations, respected the people’s rights.

He said Canadian firm Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI) had been accused of hiring paramilitary forces and committing human rights violations during clashes with residents near mining sites in Zamboanga del Sur.

TVI’s subsidiary, TVI Resources Development Philippines (TVIRD), has been involved in disputes with small-scale miners over rights to mineral-rich areas in Zamboanga del Sur. The clash led to a shooting incident in July that cost the life of a small-scale miner.

“The Canadian government must show concern for the actions of its mining firms in the country,” Colmenares said.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said Harper should order an investigation into TVIRD’s activities.

“We hope Prime Minister Harper will look into reports of serious human rights violations involving TVIRD operations in Zamboanga del Sur and take steps to ensure that Canadian mining firms doing business in the Philippines operate with due respect for human rights,” Tinio said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Malacañang on Sunday said the deal for the acquisition of military equipment forged during Harper’s visit should not agitate China.

Undersecretary Abigail Valte described the memorandum of understanding between the Department of National Defense and the state-run Canadian Commercial Corp. as “a government to government transaction for the procurement of defense and military equipment.”

The deputy presidential spokesperson said the deal should not raise tensions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), which is the subject of a territorial dispute between the two countries, since its aim is for the Philippines “to attain a credible minimum defense position.”