VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHML #4522/01 3030658
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 300658Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3698
INFO RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//OSD/ISA/AP// IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNS/COMSOCPAC HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS MANILA 004522 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP, PM, PM/RSAT, AND EAP/MTS 
USPACOM ALSO FOR FPA HUSO AND J5 
SECDEF/OSD/ISA/AP (TOOLAN/BAILEY) 
JOINT STAFF/J5 (WILKES/ROBINSON/CLEMMONS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER MARR MASS MOPS MCAP PREL OVIP HILLEN RP
SUBJECT: SCENE SETTER FOR THE VISIT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
HILLEN 
 
REF: STATE 176703 
 
¶1.  (SBU) John, a warm welcome to the Philippines!  I am 
looking forward to seeing you.  We have a packed program 
ready for you, including meetings with Foreign Secretary 
Romulo, Secretary of National Defense Cruz, and Armed Forces 
Chief of Staff General Esperon and a trip to Jolo to see 
first-hand our ongoing support for Philippine 
counterterrorism operations.  Before you arrive, I wanted to 
share some thoughts with you on what you will see and hear. 
 
------------------------ 
Counterterrorism Efforts 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) President Arroyo is a committed counterterrorism 
partner.  She has repeatedly demonstrated her willingness to 
work closely with us on combating Islamist extremism.  The 
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), supported by the U.S. 
Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P), is 
currently in its fourteenth week of continuous operations to 
capture or kill senior Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah 
leaders on the island of Jolo.  We have seen marked 
improvements, largely through U.S. assistance, in the AFP's 
ability to sustain and conduct operations. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group training in 
logistics and maintenance has allowed the AFP to keep its 
troops in the field, ships at sea, and planes in the air. 
Joint Task Force 515 and JSOTF are fully integrated into the 
Philippine Navy task force blockading Jolo and have worked 
seamlessly to surveil and interdict suspect vessels.  JSOTF 
is providing medical support, and its liaison control 
elements are at all major levels of command, including the 
maneuver battalions, providing assistance with intelligence 
and operational guidance. 
 
¶4. (U) You'll have the chance to see on the ground on Jolo 
how JSOTF civil-military operations, closely integrated with 
USAID projects, are working with the AFP to separate 
terrorists from the population.  In the town of Panamao, 
you'll visit school children who now have access to the 
Internet thanks to USAID, and water and new school buildings 
as a result of the Balikatan Exercise and JSOTF civil affairs 
teams. 
 
------------------- 
Muslim Insurgencies 
------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Although prospects for peace with the insurgent 
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continue to remain 
hopeful, talks recently hit a snag over the question of 
ancestral domain, the historically Muslim land claimed by the 
MILF.  We are directly engaged with all players, including 
the MILF Central Committee, to keep the peace process on 
track. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  USAID devotes nearly 60 percent of its $70 million 
FY06 assistance budget to Mindanao, where it is focused on 
reintegrating former combatants, promoting economic growth 
and business opportunities, education, health and local 
governance.  After the Moro National Liberation Front signed 
a peace deal with the government in 1996, USAID carried out a 
range of highly successful programs, including "Arms to 
Farms," which reintegrated over 28,000 former fighters back 
into civil society as successful farmers.  USAID is ready to 
implement similar programs should a peace agreement be signed 
with the MILF. 
 
------------------------- 
Defense and Police Reform 
------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Armed Forces of the Philippines remains heavily 
engaged in combating internal security threats, but maintains 
limited external defense capabilities.  Readiness is poor and 
modernization slow due to a lack of funding and commitment of 
resources. 
 
¶8.  (U) Secretary of National Defense Cruz and Armed Forces 
Chief of Staff General Esperon strongly support the joint 
Philippine-U.S. Philippine Defense Reform program.  The 
 
Philippine Government deposited $17.53 million into a Foreign 
Military Sales holding account in 2004.  There are now 11 
U.S. Subject Matter Experts on the ground, and more may be 
added in the near future.  In addition to long-term 
institutional changes, the multi-year Capability Upgrade 
Program will modernize 72 Philippine Army and 12 Philippine 
Marine Corps battalions over the next six years.  The 
Battalion Retraining component will focus on better training, 
personnel and logistics programs, while the longer term 
Battalions of Excellence concept will introduce new personnel 
policies, new equipment, and better training capabilities. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Philippine National Police is plagued with many 
of the same problems as the Philippine Armed Forces, yet is 
critical to urban counterterrorism operations, as well as 
controlling trafficking in persons, narcotics, and smuggling. 
 A United States Senior Law Enforcement Advisor, a former New 
Mexico State Police captain, recently joined our Embassy team 
to assist the Philippine Police in its transformation 
efforts.  One short-term intervention he is developing is a 
targeted training program aimed at improving the sensitive 
site exploitation and evidence handling skills of police and 
security officials involved in tracking the terrorists on 
Jolo. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Human Rights: Concern Over Extra-Judicial Killings 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Extrajudicial killings of local leftists, a 
perennial problem here as in many countries with weak rule of 
law, have recently attracted much more public attention. 
Leaders of leftist political groups linked to the Communist 
Party of the Philippines/New People's Army blame the military 
and police, while some in the government assert that the 
killings are the result of an internal purge within the 
Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army.  Few of 
the cases have been resolved, prompting President Arroyo to 
set up a high-level independent commission and a special 
national police task force to investigate the killings.  The 
commission is planning to issue its findings in December.  We 
press the government at every opportunity to resolve these 
killings, and I have discussed them with President Arroyo and 
key members of her cabinet, as well as the Armed Forces Chief 
of Staff and the Chief of the Philippine National Police. 
They all tell me they are as appalled as we are, but we 
remain insistent that they must get control of this problem. 
 
------------------------------------ 
SMALL ARMS/LIGHT WEAPONS DESTRUCTION 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (U) We are working closely with PM/WRA to re-start the 
successful small arms/light weapons destruction program in 
the Philippines, which we hope to have up and running by the 
time you arrive.  The aim of the program will be to destroy 
weapons in AFP armories captured from insurgents and 
terrorists.  We have also arranged for you to visit Caballo 
Island, one of the former U.S.-built fortresses guarding 
Manila harbor.  There you will see an extensive stockpile of 
former U.S. ordnance, including shells, mines, and torpedoes, 
which we hope to destroy through the small arms/light weapons 
program. 
 
----------------- 
MARINE CORPS BALL 
----------------- 
 
¶12. (U) I'd like to invite you, Brigadier General Toolan, and 
Rear Admiral Tracy to be my guests at the 231st US Marine 
Corps Birthday Ball.  Our Detachment Marines plan a gala 
event.  You'll have the opportunity to meet the senior 
leadership of the Philippine military and Department of 
National Defense in a casual setting.  Aside from the 
stimulating conversation, I'm sure you'll find it a lot of 
fun, too. 
 
------------------------ 
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS 
------------------------ 
 
¶13.  (SBU) In your meetings with Secretaries Romulo and Cruz, 
as well as your interaction other government officials and 
 
the press, you may want to draw on the following talking 
points. 
 
-- Armed Forces of the Philippines engaged in impressive 
counterterrorism effort on Jolo. 
 
-- Glad we can support this important operation to eliminate 
the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah leadership and the threat 
they pose. 
 
-- Looking forward to seeing for myself how operations are 
progressing and understanding better how the "Philippine 
Model" of civil-military operations can help defeat terrorism. 
 
-- Philippine Defense Reform represents a commitment to 
undertake fundamental institutional change.  We're proud to 
be partners in this program. 
 
-- We take the issue of extra-judicial killings seriously. 
Encouraged by steps the Philippine government has taken to 
try to get control of this problem. 
 
--  The Philippines, as chair of ASEAN this year and host of 
key summits, has a special responsibility in promoting 
regional stability and cooperation on a wide variety of 
issues, including a unified response to North Korea's nuclear 
testing. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
KENNEY