Cops secure venues for Hillary Clinton visit

Police in Manila on Tuesday secured the venues to be visited by US State Secretary and former First Lady Hillary Clinton during her stay in the Philippines. The Manila Police District appealed to groups planning protests to keep their activities peaceful and orderly, radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported. MPD spokesman Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo said they have "sufficient" police personnel to ensure a smooth visit for Clinton, who is scheduled to arrive 5 p.m. Tuesday. The specific venues where Clinton is expected to visit, however, were not disclosed. For its part, the Department of Foreign Affairs made last-minute preparations to welcome Clinton, according to a separate report by dzBB's Sam Nielsen. The report quoted the DFA as saying that Clinton is scheduled to arrive aboard a chartered flight at 5 p.m. Earlier, the DFA said Clinton's visit seeks to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty and to launch the Partnership for Growth (PFG) initiative of the Obama administration in the Philippines. The DFA said Clinton is to meet with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to discuss new ways of stepping up the alliance to a higher level in 2012. "Her visit underlines the enduring alliance and responsive strategic partnership between the Philippines and U.S., and is the latest concrete manifestation of U.S. action and reengagement in the most dynamic region in the world—the Asia Pacific," Del Rosario said. On the other hand, militants led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said they will lead protests during the visit. "The Clinton visit aims to perpetuate 60 years of deception and lopsided relations. The MDT continues to be invoked to justify US intervention in our country. There are no benefits from this Cold War relic. In the last 40 years, the MDT was used to justify US military bases in the Philippines, as well as Philippine involvement in US conflicts abroad. To this day, the MDT is being wrongly used to justify the Visiting Forces Agreement even if the MDT pre-dates the VFA by 48 years," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. Bayan added the MDT anniversary will be used to drum up so-called US support for the Philippines and its claims on the Spratlys. “We’re being hoodwinked into believing we have the unqualified support of the US for the Philippines Spratly’s claim and that the MDT is the key to all this. The reality is that the US will NOT automatically go to war with China on the basis of the MDT alone. Military action would first require US congressional approval, which would be difficult considering America’s economic ties with China," Reyes said. — RSJ, GMA News