MLSA signed next week, DFA says

The Philippines and the United States have agreed on the final draft of the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) which is expected to be signed next week, highly placed sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The controversial pact is designed to grant the US military semi-permanent basing rights and provide more active military presence and wider access to Philippine ports.

Government sources said the MLSA does not need Senate concurrence since it is merely an executive agreement.

They said presidential aides such as Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Avelino Cruz met on Tuesday to validate the document.

The signing of the MLSA was timed for the Manila visit of the commander-in-chief of US forces in the Pacific, Adm. Thomas Fargo.

The technical working group for the MLSA took into consideration four points raised by Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr.

It was not immediately revealed who would represent both countries in the signing ceremony.

Guingona has questioned the constitutionality of the original draft and recommended that it be submitted to the Senate for ratification as mandated by the Constitution.

He argued that the MLSA might technically amend and expand the coverage of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.

Critics feared that the MLSA would allow acts by US forces that are prohibited by the Charter.

Guingona said the MLSA could be classified as an executive agreement if it limited itself to implementation of existing treaties between the two countries.