Miriam wants VFA junked, says US officer admits about RP combat role

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago may recommend to the Senate the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) after learning about a report wherein a US military commander allegedly admitted that US troops were engaged in combat operations in the Philippines. Santiago, co-chairperson of the Legislative Oversight Committee on the VFA, claimed that Col. David Maxwell, commander of the Joint Special Operations Task Force of the Philippines, said the "Philippine Constitution does not prohibit combat operations and provides an exception to this, if there is a treaty in force." Santiago co-chairs the bicameral body with Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco. [See: Battle of definitions mars VFA bicam hearing] She said Maxwell was quoted in a publication by the Focus on the Global South about the non-prohibition of combat operations in the Philippines. Focus on the Global South is an international non-government organization based in Bangkok, founded by sociologist and Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello. "By his own admission, Col. Maxwell is using the Task Force to engage in battle in Mindanao in the US war against terrorism, which includes the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah," Santiago said in her opening speech in Thursday's bicameral committee hearing on the VFA. The VFA, ratified by the Philippine Senate on May 27, 1999, disallows US troops from engaging in combat operations except for self-defense. A check with the Web site, US Army Professional Writing Collection, showed that the article written by Col. David S. Maxwell for the May-June 2004 military review discussed about the Philippine Constitution’s supposed non-prohibition of combat operations in the country involving US troops. "The deployment of US troops was contentious in-country because the local press asserted that US forces could not legally participate in combat operations. However, a correct reading of the Philippine Constitution reveals that it prohibits only the stationing of foreign forces in the Philippines after the 1991 expiration of the Philippines-US agreement on military bases," said Maxwell, identified in the article as commander of the initial battalion deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines. "The Constitution does not prohibit combat operations and provides an exception to this-if there is a treaty in force-and a treaty has been in force between the two countries since 1951. A lack of understanding of Philippine laws contributed to US decisions to unduly restrict the employment of SF (special forces) advisers," the article added. The committee hearing was held after The New York Times reported that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates had decided to keep an elite 600-soldier counterinsurgency operation deployed in the Philippines despite pressure to reassign the troops to other countries with more urgent needs such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The Philippine Legislature was later urged to look into the legality of the continued stay of US troops in the Philippines without a basing treaty. A group led by former Senate president Jovito Salonga supported Santiago’s position against the VFA through a "supplemental motion for reconsideration" that it filed with the Supreme Court on Thursday. In the motion, the group "argued that the US soldiers are circumventing the Constitution as well as the sovereignty of the Philippines by visiting the country under the pretext of conducting training exercises, but are actually setting up military positions under long-term plans." "Whether it is temporarily permanent or permanently temporary, the Constitution prohibits the setting up by foreign countries of military bases here, and establishing their permanent presence. That was emphasized in the Senate resolution ratifying the VFA in 1999," said lawyer Harry Roque, who handles the case. [See: Palace says no to abrogation of VFA] - GMANews.TV