Trillanes seeks to codify ban on chemical weapons in PH

From InterAksyon (Jan 22): Trillanes seeks to codify ban on chemical weapons in PH

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has filed a bill that seeks to establish a legislative framework for the full implementation in the country of the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, to which the Philippines is a signatory.

The international agreement provides for the elimination and prohibits the development of chemical weapons.

If passed, Senate Bill 2042, or the Chemical Weapons Prohibition Act, would affirm the country’s commitment to the pact, which has been signed by 190 states, Trillanes said.

“We have been firm in honoring our obligations under the Convention. In fact, the Anti-Terrorism Council of the Office of the President, which acts as the Philippine National Authority on the Chemical Weapons Convention, has been participating in different activities and capacity-building trainings related to the Convention’s implementation, together with other government agencies and private sector,” Trillanes said. “However, despite our efforts, we cannot fully implement its provisions in the country due to lack of a legislative framework that will give teeth to its implementation.”

Trillanes, a former Navy captain, is chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security.

The bill “prohibits, under any circumstance, the development, production, manufacture, acquisition, possession, stockpile, retention, transfer, or use of chemical weapons, or engagement in any other activities prohibited under the Convention.”

It also establishes a permanent Philippine National Authority for the Chemical Weapons Convention that It will serve as the national coordinating body for effective liaison with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the implementing body of the Convention, and other state parties to the Convention.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/79199/trillanes-seeks-to-codify-ban-on-chemical-weapons-in-ph