Arms Trade Treaty referred to plenary for senators' concurrence

The Senate foreign relations committee on Thursday approved and referred the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to the plenary for senators’ concurrence.

In his opening statement, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairperson of the committee, said the ATT aims to reduce human suffering caused by illegal and irresponsible arms transfer, improve regional security and stability, as well as promote accountability and transparency by the state parties concerning transfers of conventional arms.

These key provisions of the ATT were echoed by Ambassador Bruce Concepcion from the Office of the Special Envoy for Transnational Crimes.

Before the panel recommended its referral to the plenary, Senators Imee Marcos and Francis Tolentino expressed concerns on how the ATT will address the problem of loose firearms in the country.

“I feel that perhaps…the ATT is no answer on the proliferation of illicit and loose firearms in the Philippines, given that so many of our illicit firearms are actually sourced in-country from backyard craftsmen,” Marcos manifested.

“Some are rooted from terror groups and insurgents from encounters and some are sold underground by some unscrupulous individuals within the ranks themselves. So parang walang bearing siya e sa ating proliferation of firearms. Not to speak of also the largely failed effort register illegal firearms,” she added.

Tolentino raised his concern on illegal firearms from overseas sources.

He cited the situation during the Marawi siege where most of the firearms allegedly came abroad.

“With what happened in Afghanistan, with the weaponry, the tactical vehicles practically turned over to the Talibans, there is a big chance that even a portion would reach other countries as well,” he mentioned.

“How would this treaty, enacted before that Afghanistan fall, really diffuse in the minds of the State parties that there will be no illicit sale—which is one of objectives of this treaty—and how can the State parties really tighten the borders, etcetera?” he asked.

Two local firearms industry stakeholders also opposed the ratification of the ATT.

ARMSCOR Global Defense, Inc. deputy chief executive Gina Marie Anganco said ATT will not benefit the local firearms industry.

“We don’t believe that the ATT is helpful to us. We have had many experiences where our permits were stopped and we had to go through a long process of going to ambassadors to try to seek help as they say there are human rights abuses in our country, we also feel that this is an added bureaucracy,” she said.

“We are afraid that we have to go through a third agency, the Office of Transnational Crime. So, we don’t think it will help us. It's also an added expense. We are contributing to a fund to implement the ATT but we are not benefiting from it,” she added.

Association of Firearms and Ammunitions Dealers of the Philippines president Hagen Alexander Topacio also expressed objection to the treaty.

“We earnestly believe that the ATT must not be ratified because it is disadvantageous to the country,” Topacio said.

Topacio said the treaty will weaken the already strict Philippine regulations on the firearms industry.

He asserted that the firearms are more regulated in the Philippines than in other states.

“The ATT will require the PH to apply international standards and definitions of conventional weapons contradictory to Philippine laws which provides stricter standards. For example, a barrel in the Philippines is already considered a firearm and subject to regulation, but in other countries a barrel is just a firearm part,” he said.

Apart from this, Topacio said the ATT will add another layer of bureaucracy, but “will not address the surge in illegal firearms.”

Another concern raised by Topacio was the reporting requirements under the treaty.

“[It] will jeopardize the national security. The treaty will require us to report all our imports and exports and this information will be shared to all member states, thereby, informing those who wish our country harm of the weapons that we possess and those we are claiming,” he said.

With the position of the local industry, Pimentel asked Concepcion to prepare answers on the possible concerns that will be raised during the plenary deliberations of the ATT.

Despite objections from the private sector, most government agencies, including the security sector,  are pushing for the ratification of the said treaty.

All treaties signed by the government should be concurred in by the Senate.—LDF, GMA News