‘MLSA not tied to US aid to AFP’

No strings attached.

This was how Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes described yesterday the proposed approval of the controversial RP-US Mutual Logistics and Support Agreement (MLSA).

The agreement, Reyes said, is not tied to any military or financial aid from the United States government to the Philippines, even as he admitted that Malacañang’s failure to give its go-signal to the pact could be inimical for the country.

Meanwhile, incoming Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said he could not determine yet if the MLSA would need Senate ratification as its text has not yet been finalized and approved by the two sides.

However, Ople said senators would be fully briefed about the MLSA by a Cabinet committee composed of Reyes, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez and himself.

"The MLSA gives no basing rights to the US. It is in full conformity with the Constitution," Ople added.

In an interview, Reyes said all US assistance — military and economic — to the country is a product of American legal processes.

The assistance, he added is already covered and justified by bilateral treaties between the US and Philippine governments.

"If you are talking of US assistance and US aid, those are involved in other agreements. You have assistance agreements, you have agreements in terms of education for our soldiers and officers, you have provision or authority of the US to give excess defense articles, so if you speak of assistance and support, they would come under agreements, not under the MLSA," he said.

"Now, we do not sign the MLSA — personally and officially as secretary of defense, I don’t see any reason why we should not — that would definitely send a message to the world why we have not signed. I’m sure you’re all intelligent enough to know what the messages are," Reyes added without elaborating.

The defense chief admitted that the draft of the MLSA could have been signed months ago if not for the deluge of criticism mostly leaf-leaning advocacy and political groups.

Reyes blamed the backlash against the MLSA on the public’s lack of understanding of the document. According to him, the MLSA is simply an implementing mechanism of the military activities approved under the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the Visiting Forces Agreement and the US Charter and resolutions. The MLSA is also a low-level logistics type agreement, he added.

Reyes said the MLSA is not a legal authority to allow any activity to be conducted by the Philippine and US armed forces, nor is it a basing agreement allowing for the permanent stationing of US troops in the country.

Although he is fully confident of the legality and constitutionality of the proposed MLSA, Reyes said President Arroyo ordered a thorough review of the draft to make sure it would pass close scrutiny, including that of the courts.

"We are careful. It’s approval is taking a long time because we are a very litigious society. We want that whatever is agreed on or signed will, as much as possible, be very, very clear as to its intention," he said.

The draft, he added, is already at the Cabinet level. Reyes said the US has MLSA or similar types of agreements with 80 countries.

The RP-US MLSA, he added, will "definitely be contributing positively to the enhancement of relations between our countries." — With Efren Danao