Ople, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations, congratulated Vice President and concurrent Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr. for coming out with an improved TOR on the controversial "Balikatan 02-01."
Guingona submitted the amended guidelines of the ongoing war games to the Senate committees on foreign relations and national defense last Wednesday.
"The terms of reference upheld the authority of the Philippine commander on the ground in the Balikatan exercises and definitely ruled out the participation of the US troops in combat operations," Ople noted.
He said the TOR finalized by Guingona have convinced senators that there would be no building of permanent military structures, and that basing rights would not be granted to the United States.
Ople said his views on the amended TOR were shared by his colleagues including Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., chairman of the Senate committee on national defense.
US military officials involved in the maneuvers were reportedly having misgivings over the provision on command and authority of the Filipino ground commanders as stipulated by the new TOR.
Guingona pointed out, however, that such misgivings stemmed from some US laws mandating that the American military could not be under the command of a foreign power.
Ople expressed confidence that the problem could be overcome in favor of Guingona’s formula upholding the authority of the Philippine commander at the tactical level without breaking the US chain of command.
"There is a clear distinction between authority and command," Ople argued.
Guingona said the Philippines could get the US reaction to the new TOR by Feb. 15, the last day of the preparatory stage of the military exercise.
He said he might have a teleconference with US Secretary of State Colin Powell "to save time."
President Arroyo said the Cabinet oversight committee on internal security headed by Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo met last night to set the stage for the teleconference.
At the same time, Mrs. Arroyo reiterated that it was her unilateral decision to set a TOR on the exercise. "It was I who wanted the TOR. It was not a requirement of the law."
"Some of our inputs could be reduced to minutes because there are vital documents that need to be enlightened and interpreted correctly by those interested," Guingona said.
He said after approval of the revised TOR, there will be four months of actual training, after which there will be a 30-day period for gradual withdrawal or phaseout.
Meanwhile, Biliran Rep. Gerry Espina said he would file a joint Congress resolution declaring war against terrorism and to put an end to the raging controversy over the Balikatan exercise.
Espina said the measure would strengthen the position of the Arroyo administration and would make the war against terrorism a state policy, now just an executive decision.
He said since a joint resolution has the same effect of a law passed by both chambers of Congress, the controversy over the presence of US troops in the country would be legalized without amending the Charter.
In the forthcoming measure, Espina said he will put into proper perspective the role to be played by American troops against specific terrorist groups targeted by a military action.
He said "terrorists" would be classified as a group of outlaws without any ideological belief and attack innocent civilian targets.
On the other hand, revolutionary groups such as the New People’s Army and the Muslim separatists "who carry out their activities in pursuit of their political belief must be spared from the declaration of war."
In another development, some 300 US servicemen in Clark Field, Pampanga have started packing up for a gradual phaseout of their month-long joint exercise dubbed Balance Piston which closes on Feb. 15.
US Air Force M/Sgt. Michael Parris said all of their aircraft will be flown back to their base in Okinawa, Japan.
The movements of the US soldiers were generally limited within the confines of Clark Field, a former US air base, following the gunslaying of an American tourist while climbing Mt. Pinatubo last Jan. 30.
Philippine Air Force spokesman Maj. Allan Ballesteros said another batch of US troops is expected later this year for another round of joint war games called Balikatan 02-02.
The group charged that Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and US Pacific Command chief Admiral Dennis Blair have already signed a draft agreement for the eventual return of the US military bases in the country.
"We strongly suspect that the full details of Balikatan are not made public for this would open the backdoor for the return of the US military bases in the country," Cry Out leader Bishop Alan Ray Sarte said.
Cry Out earlier announced a plan to conduct a signature campaign to compel the Arroyo administration to stop the joint military exercise.
The Ecumenical Bishops Forum claimed the Arroyo government was courting war by allowing the US troops to use live ammunition and high-tech weaponry in the war games in utter disregard of the people’s rejection of the US military presence in the country.
For its part, the League of Filipino Students (LFS) said it would not hold rallies or demonstrations to oppose the maneuvers, but will play instead the computer game called "Counter-Strike."
In the game, terrorists will be personified by US President George W. Bush, Mrs. Arroyo, and Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, while the anti-terrorists will be represented by people’s organizations opposed to the Balikatan.
Brushing aside the criticisms, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez gave assurances that the government did not make any short-cuts in the preparations for the war games.
"The US responded fast to the request of the Philippines for military assistance and the government simply reciprocated by acting fast also," Golez said.
He said he was surprised at the negative reactions to the exercise. "It is as though the US were not our closest ally. Right now, there is no other country that is closest to us from the military, economic, cultural and social point of view," Golez said in a statement.
Meanwhile, former Senate president Jovito Salonga said the Americans will never follow their Filipino counterparts in actual combat.
"In the heat of the battle, all these rules will have to be subordinate to the requirements, to the exigencies of the war," Salonga said in an interview.
He pointed out that in actual battle, the American troops would do what is necessary under the circumstances, adding that the TOR of the Balikatan were "unrealistic."
"When soldiers find, for example, that the Burnhams are in peril, they will not have to check with Manila as to what is to be done," he said.
He also maintained that neither the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty nor the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement covered the Balikatan.
He said kidnapping is a barbaric act which should be defeated decisively and could not qualify as an external armed attack. — With Marichu Villanueva, Perseus Echeminada, Mayen Jaymalin, Paolo Romero, Sheila Crisostomo, Ding Cervantes