‘RP backs coalition of the willing’

As part of the "coalition of the willing," the Philippines might send peacekeeping forces and humanitarian assistance to Iraq which came under attack by the US-led coalition yesterday. But President Arroyo said she would send no combat troops to the Middle East.

"The Philippines is part of the coalition of the willing. We are giving political and moral support for actions to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction," Mrs. Arroyo told the graduating class of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) at Fort Del Pilar in Baguio City.

But while the government would not send combat troops to the Middle East, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said Manila would be willing to grant the United States use of Philippine air space in the course of the war.

Congressional leaders have echoed the government’s support of the US and urged the public to unite behind the President’s efforts to lessen the impact of the war on some 1.4 million Filipino workers in the Middle East.

At the same time, Mrs. Arroyo said, moments after US forces in the Persian Gulf launched cruise missiles at Iraqi military targets, she hoped the war would be "surgical, short and swift."

"Even as I speak, the signals of war ring out at the other side of the world. A minute ago, I just received notice (that) the war has just begun," the President told the 102 new first lieutenants and ensigns of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

"We shall not be deploying Philippine combat troops... but the Philippines is committed to extend peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance to Iraq after the conflict," the President said, noting that many new AFP officers would likely be sent to Mindanao instead.

The President said Manila’s delegation to the United Nations peacekeeping force that is expected to be deployed to Iraq after the war may consist of volunteer policemen but she stressed that the matter was still being discussed.

At the same time, Mrs. Arroyo said the government is prepared to respond to the needs of some 1.4 million Filipino workers in various states in the Persian Gulf.

"For now, we have to face our immediate imperatives. The moral and political cause to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction does not pose a mortal threat to our nationals in the Middle East," the President said.

"(Filipino workers) are in good hands of our embassies, their employers and the host governments. Most of them will stay in place in order to be enveloped by the effective defenses against any attack," she added.

Mrs. Arroyo said the government decided to support the US "politically and morally" because the country’s long-standing security alliance with the US was "vital" to national security.

"We are part of a long-standing security alliance. We are part of the global coalition against terrorism. These relationships are vital to our national security. They bear a significance to this war and to our combined efforts to fight terrorism," she said.

Ople: Overflights OK

Meanwhile, Ople said the government is willing to allow the use of its air space, ports and airports if the US asks for it.

Ople said Manila has already allowed the US to use Philippine air space and its air and sea ports during the war against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in October 2001.

"No request has been made and the merit of this will be studied. I think it would not be inconsistent with our laws. It has been done in the war against Afghanistan," Ople said.

In the House of Representatives, Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay, chairman of the House committee on national defense, said Manila is duty bound to back the US coalition in line with its support of UN actions after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, on the other hand, said Manila should support the US in line with our long-standing Mutual Defense Treaty.

Ople said the Philippine embassy in Riyadh is in control of the situation in the Arabian peninsula despite the outbreak of war.

The embassy staff in Baghdad, however, has been evacuated although a skeleton staff remained to attend to the needs of some Filipinos married to Iraqis and visiting Filipino journalists.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, for his part, told The STAR that selected government officials were informed of the initial US strike an hour before it was launched.

Golez said the Philippines was included in the list of the 35 members of the "coalition of the willing" after most of the members of the National Security Council supported the move during its meeting on Tuesday.

"This is a well thought out decision. Of course, both pros and cons were weighed and the cost-benefits will be in our favor," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a briefing. – With Artemio Dumlao, Paolo Romero