In a span of three months, Philippine president Benigno Aquino III has joined US soldiers in target-practice during the Balikatan war games and recently, visited the US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
Umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan thinks Aquino is already sending the wrong message and making wrong decisions in relation to the presence of US troops in the Philippines.
“There is supposedly an ongoing review of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement being undertaken by Malacanang because of problems related to sovereignty, yet the way the president is acting, it appears that there’s no problem at all. The message we’re getting here is that US troops and their war machines are very much welcome in our country despite numerous violations of sovereignty done in the past,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.
“Instead of taking a more independent and critical outlook towards US troop presence in the country, the Philippine president has shown fan-like awe towards arriving US forces. One wonders what has really become of the VFA review given the recent actions of the President,” Reyes said.
The group said that the Philippine president should make a categorical pronouncement that it will not allow extra-territorial actions on the part of US troops in PH territory, like what US forces did in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan.
Bayan questioned the entry of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson saying that it may have violated the constitutional provisions prohibiting nuclear weapons in the country.
“The most ironic and ridiculous thing here is that the Philippine president was on board the aircraft carrier that should have been considered banned under Philippine law. It’s as if Aquino was duped into legitimizing the entry of the warship, or that the president is unaware or does not care about the constitutional provision against nuclear weapons, being more interested in the shock-and-awe factor of US military might,” Reyes said.
“Unfortunately, under the VFA, there is no way for the Philippine government to tell if a warship carries weapons of mass destruction since the VFA prohibits Philippine authorities from conducting ship inspections,” he added.
Section 8 of the Constitution says, “The Philippines, consistent with the national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory.”
“It is our view that the ban on nukes should encompass both nuclear warheads and warships, and that should include the USS Carl Vinson,” Reyes said.
Bayan also said that President Aquino has failed to stop the permanent basing of US troops in Southern Philippines. The US-Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines has been stationed in Zamboanga since 2002. “This is an ongoing violation of our sovereignty. The VFA has allowed an unlimited number of US forces to conduct undefined activities for an unspecified duration in PH territory. What’s to prevent US forces from conducting military operations in our country, similar to what is being done in Pakistan?” he added.###
Yea. who save your ass during WW II?? you'd all be speaking japanese not Tagalog
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