US envoy denies report of Filipino mercenary training in Subic

US Ambassador Kristie Kelley denied yesterday that the US government has been recruiting and training Filipino mercenaries for deployment to Iraq, but admitted it is possible that private American firms could be doing so on their own.

In an interview with local media during her visit to the Angeles City AIDS council office in Pampanga, Kelley said "the US government isn’t training Filipinos for service in Iraq, the US government isn’t doing that."

Kelley said private "US companies are active throughout the world on all sort of things" and some of them could possibly be undertaking such a project. She stressed, however, that the US government has no knowledge of this, as "US companies are private organizations."

There have been persistent reports that Filipinos have been recruited by Americans and given military training in the jungle areas of Subic freeport as well as Clark special economic zone. Reports said that trained Filipinos are to be deployed for security operations in restive Iraq, where US forces are fighting persistent terrorist attacks.

Officials of both Clark and Subic have also denied knowledge of such military training activities.

At the same time, Kelley, who is on her third month as US envoy, downplayed any foreign terrorist threat to the country which she said has remained peaceful.

"The Philippines, like so many countries in the world, is very concerned and worried about terrorism threats and I think we’re working very closely together (on the threat). The Filipinos I’ve met, that includes all of you, we all live in a peaceful country," she said.

Kelley also encouraged the government to continue the fight against terrorism, saying that "in any country where you even have a hint that there may be people trying to destroy the peace, the stability and the dreams of the citizens, you want to take that seriously. One person who is not allowing your citizen to live a peaceful, productive life is one person too many."

Kelley arrived at the Angeles AIDS council office at the usually traffic-clogged Balibago commercial district here with minimal security personnel.

She said she felt "very safe" traveling to various parts of the country and vowed to continue doing so. "To me, the important thing is to be able to get out because I am the US ambassador to all of the Philippines and I want to get out and see what Filipinos think, what they do, and to see the good works the Filipinos are doing. I am happy to be a partner in a lot of that."

Kelley shied away from commenting on the current US travel advisory on the Philippines, saying only that "we’ll always review our travel advisory and we’ll keep doing that," adding that "travel advisories are for countries throughout the world and it helps our citizens travel as safely as possible."

She said Washington will update the advisory "as the situation requires."

"I love the Philippines, being here is like being home. The Filipinos are wonderful. You’re friendly, you’re kind, you care a lot. We share the same vision. I love serving in a country where Filipinos and Americans want the same thing. We want good health, we want good education, we want our citizens to have jobs, we want to live in peace," she said.

The Senate is set to look into the proposed operation of a United States private security firm in Subic in order to ensure its compliance with the laws of the country.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, said yesterday that he would file a resolution to pave the way for the inquiry into the proposed operation of Greystone Ltd.

Biazon explained that he wants to examine the approved activities of Greystone in relation to the constitutional provision prohibiting the entry of foreign troops and the establishment of a base in the country, the laws on the use of firearms and the use of environmentally protected areas.

A memorandum for business development on the lease agreement between the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Satelles Solutions Inc. showed that Greystone would be leasing a total of 19,321 square meters of land inside the Freeport for three years.

In order to pave the way for the entry of the US firm, it entered into a partnership with the newly formed Satelles Solutions Inc. in the Philippines.

According to the registration documents of Satelles, Greystone Ltd. controls the company with a total of P10.4 million in subscribed shares.

The rest of the shareholders, each of whom subscribed P1 in shares are Mary Grace Agoncillo, Frances Yuyucheng, Clarisse Oben-Evangelista, Romeo Redelicia and Ramberto Saavedra.

A total of $294,000 (P15.6 million) would be collected from the company for the lease of the property.

The company has committed to invest $200,000 and plans to hire 20 employees initially.

According to the SBMA, the company would use an existing firing range inside the Freeport temporarily until a suitable area is found.

It was also revealed that the company intends to improve the existing facilities to comply with international standards and that it would bring in a minimum of 1,000 trainees a month when fully operational.

Conditional approval has been granted for the operation and SBMA administrator and chief executive officer Armand Arreza has already recommended this for presentation to the SBMA board.

Biazon pointed out that the inquiry would look into the activities of the company in the country considering its background in recruiting mercenaries for conflict areas particularly Iraq.

Greystone is the international affiliate of Blackwater USA, a US firm that has contracts with the Pentagon for the provision of security and training services in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Based on the website of Greystone, the company is described as an international security services company that offers countries or organizations a complete solution to their most pressing security needs.

An article from the Virginian Pilot quoted Blackwater president Gary Jackson as saying that the company has acquired about 25 acres at Subic Bay and will have access to thousands of acres of adjacent jungle for conducting jungle environment survival training.

Blackwater has taken pride as an equal opportunity employer meaning that it does not discriminate in terms of race when hiring. — With Marvin Sy, Antonietta Lopez