‘MLSA still at proposal stage’

President Arroyo disputed claims that her administration had already concluded a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) with the US, clarifying that the pact was still at the proposal stage and did not have a working draft as yet.

Meanwhile, a highly-reliable diplomatic source clarified the US is not actually asking that its troops be allowed to participate in combat patrols in Western Mindanao during the joint RP-US military exercise, called "Balikatan 2002."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source stressed that US participation in the Balikatan component exercise "Kalayaan Aguila (Freedom Eagle)" is primarily for training purposes and not for the rescue of two American missionaries and a Filipino nurse who are being held by the Abu Sayyaf group on Basilan island.

The Kalayaan Aguila component exercise and the MLSA are the two main issues in a controversy that have led senators to speculate that the Arroyo administration has forged secret deals with the US.

But the Chief Executive dismissed claims that she had secretly signed the MLSA and stressed the MLSA was still a US proposal that she referred to a Cabinet committee for review.

"There is a draft submitted and proposed by the US so I formed a committee to look at their proposal. There is no ‘working draft’ but only a proposal," Mrs. Arroyo said, refuting Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos, who claimed she was in possession of a working draft.

"This draft did not come from the Philippine side. The draft that is making the rounds (has) no inputs from the Philippines," she clarified.

"Of course, whoever makes the proposal has to put something together. But you don’t really call it a ‘working draft’ until both sides have contributed something to the proposal," she explained, noting that the Cabinet committee has yet to present counter-proposals.

She said she formed the three-man Cabinet committee to review the MLSA through Executive Order No. 57, issued on Dec. 3 last year.

The committee includes Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes as chairman with Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona and Justice Secretary Hernando Perez as members.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva is a member of the technical working group.

Reyes, for his part, denied that the MLSA was already a "done deal" and stressed that talks preliminary to the signing of the agreement are still ongoing.

"Nothing has been signed and this thing is still being discussed," Reyes said. "We have been transparent about this. We had a press conference here. Many have spoken about it," Reyes said.

The Reyes committee was created a week after the President’s working visit to the US on Nov. 19-23 when US President George W. Bush granted the most substantive military assistance package extended to the Philippines for a decade.

She returned from Washington with some $100 million in military aid for 2002, $1 billion worth of trade concessions and conditional debt relief amounting to some $430 million.

In an apparent gesture of appreciation, Mrs. Arroyo created the Reyes committee to come up with a mutually-acceptable draft of the agreement by Dec. 31, 2001.

The diplomatic source said the Kalayaan Aguila component exercise was also a direct result of Mrs. Arroyo’s bilateral talks with Bush when she asked for training and equipment for local troops.

"The purpose of the exercise is not the freedom of (Martin and Gracia Burnham) but to develop the skills of the Philippine military which will also be useful in rescue operations," he said.

The source said the US has full confidence in the ability of the AFP to rescue the Burnhams, long-time Philippine residents, who were abducted from a resort in Palawan last May.

The source confirmed that military equipment that would be used in Kalayaan Aguila would eventually be turned over to the AFP and includes C-130 cargo planes, Huey helicopters, M-16 rifles and night-vision equipment, among others.

"But they are not bringing artillery," the source said.

The source also reiterated the six-month to one-year duration of the exercise was at the invitation of the Philippine government and the US had no intention of overstaying or establishing military bases.

Several senators had expressed concern the military exercises would be used as a pretext to establish new military bases which are prohibited by the Constitution, or lead to an escalation of hostilities similar to the US involvement in the Vietnam War.

In an apparent move to address the senators’ apprehensions, Mrs. Arroyo invited them to dinner at Malacañang tonight to answer whatever questions they may have regarding the exercises and the MLSA.

She extended the invitation to all the members of the Senate at the suggestion of Senate President Franklin Drilon and opposition Sen. Blas Ople, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.

Some senators had earlier feared the administration was concluding an international agreement without the Senate’s advice and consent and expressed concern that Malacañang would conclude an executive agreement that would not need Senate ratification. – With Perseus Echeminada