US commander: We're here as ambassadors of goodwill

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga -- They're back, but they're not here to stay.

Claiming to be "ambassadors of goodwill," 67 American soldiers assembled in this former United States air base as the first major US-Philippine joint military exercise in five years began yesterday.

"We're here as ambassadors of goodwill of the US government," said Brig. Gen. Jack Holbein, the highest ranking officer in the group, as he allayed fears that they have returned to set up new bases in the country. "We're here as peace-keepers."

Holbein, a US Air Force special operations commander who was stationed at Clark from 1975 to 1978, led the American contingent in briefing Filipino soldiers on their capabilities as well as the tactics, techniques and procedures for the war games which will be held in different areas in the country until March 3.

The war games were authorized under the Visiting Forces Agreement which the Philippine Senate ratified last May 27. The agreement generally grants the US jurisdiction over crimes committed by its personnel while on duty in the country.

The US suspended major military exercises in the Philippines in 1996 after Manila closed a loophole shielding American military personnel from prosecution for crimes committed in the country.

The last major joint exercises were held in 1995.

The two countries are bound by a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty which obliges them to help each other in times of war.

Maj. Gen. Arturo Carillo, head of the Northern Luzon Command and the highest ranking among Filipino troops in the VFA exercises, said several briefings would be conducted in five days before actual war games would start.

Navy Capt. Mateo Mayuga, director of the exercises for the Philippines, said the first five days of the "Balikatan" or shoulder-to-shoulder exercises would be mostly "lectures, group discussions and simulations" of what will be done in the war games.

He said Filipino and American soldiers will have to familiarize themselves first on "crisis action planning procedures" and the process of making decisions in times of conflict.

More than 2,300 American soldiers are joining the land, air and sea exercises.

The arrival of the US contingent, however, was greeted with protests from militant groups opposing the return of foreign military bases in the country.

About 70 student protesters burned the American flag in front of the main gate of this former air base which is now an industrial and recreation center.

Ana Agustin-de Guzman, of the Movement for National Democracy which sponsored the protest, said they do not want a repeat of the experiences they had when Clark Field was still an American base.

"The experiences that we had when the US military bases were here should not be repeated," she said.

Elmer Cato, deputy head of the commission in charge of overseeing the VFA exercises, said they would observe maximum tolerance towards the protesters.

"That's our policy," Cato said as he asked The STAR to rectify a report quoting him instead of a protest leader as saying that the VFA was the US government's tool to intervene in local economy and politics and a launching pad for the US' involvement in armed conflicts in other countries.

In Manila, about 30 demonstrators burned women's underwear in front of the US Embassy to protest the military exercises which they claim will foster prostitution.

The protesters, mostly women, burned panties labeled "AIDS," "prostitution," and "orphaned Amerasians" by lighting them from a burning cardboard drawing of an American soldier carrying a rifle and a nuclear missile.

Flores Esparas, a protest leader, said the arrival of thousands of US troops will cause a resurgence of problems associated with the former US military bases in the country.

"We do not want to experience the same nightmare... prostitution, AIDS, drugs, orphaned Amerasians, toxic waste contamination," Esparas said.

Meanwhile, part of yesterday's start of briefings turned into a virtual invitation for the American soldiers to experience the "hospitality" of Filipino women.

Col. Arturo Cabantog, of the Army's Northern Luzon Command, candidly told the US troops, which included a woman, that cases of sexually transmitted diseases are "negligible" in the areas surrounding Clark Field than in Metro Manila.

"But the guest relations officers here are not necessarily with medical certificates," he warned, triggering laughter from the Americans.

Cabantog briefed the US troops also on how to go around Angeles City from the Holiday Inn hotel inside Clark Field where they are billeted. "If you have to go out get a local to fetch you and bring you back," he said.

US military officials have promised that American troops will behave. Curfews will be imposed and alcohol intake limited when US soldiers are on liberty, they said.

Holbein, the US contingent's head, said he does not expect that the American soldiers would have much time for "R&R" or rest and recreation. He noted that unlike US troops before which visited Clark Field for R&R, the soldiers participating in the VFA exercises have come to work.

"They would be tied up from eight to 10 hours and only a few of them are likely to have R&R activities," he said.

Nonetheless, the League of Angeles City Entertainers, formed from the 90 night clubs, mostly along Fields Avenue here, has prepared "cultural presentations" to welcome the Americans. An official of the group said the number of female "entertainers" in the city is expected to rise from 2,000 to 3,000 with the presence of US soldiers. -- With Liberty Dones, AP, AFP reports