Balikatan to take place in Bicol, Southern Luzon, Zamboanga

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine and US troops will train to provide relief and assistance together during natural disasters and other crises when the RP-US Balikatan 2009 gets underway in Bicol, Central and Southern Luzon, and Zamboanga from April 16-30.

The US Embassy in Manila yesterday said that preliminary works on community infrastructure projects will begin early next month (April) prior to the Balikatan.

Participants from both countries will conduct humanitarian assistance projects in Bicol, Central and Southern Luzon, and Zamboanga.

They will offer free medical, dental, and veterinary care and construct and repair schools and other infrastructure in communities most in need of assistance.

Members from all military services of both countries will conduct combined staff exercises and field training in Luzon to improve interoperability and contingency planning.

“These humanitarian assistance and training activities will enable our soldiers to get to know each other, train together, and provide assistance in communities where the need is greatest,” said US Ambassador Kristie Kenney.

“True to the meaning of the word balikatan, this exercise entails Philippine and US forces shouldering the load together to help the greatest possible number of people in need,” she added.

Balikatan 2009 will be the 25th annual event of its kind held under the auspices of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The annual Balikatan will take place after the US and the Philippines held a dialogue this month in Washington on the provision of the VFA on the custody of erring American military personnel.

The US Embassy is still awaiting the interpretation of legal experts from Washington on how to implement the Supreme Court decision on the place of detention of convicted rapist Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACOM) will again closely monitor this year’s Balikatan exercise to prevent a repeat of the Subic rape case and other controversies.

“Everything is in place. We will make sure that it (rape case) will not happen again. We are also coordinating with the US Embassy and other involved agencies, such as the militaries of the Philippines and the US,” an official said.

The Philippine government, the official said, will also ensure that the curfew for US servicemen is followed.

In December 2006, the US government threatened to cancel all the military exercises and humanitarian operations in the country because of the government’s failure to transfer the custody of Smith to the US Embassy.

But on Dec. 29, 2006, Philippine officials returned Smith to the custody of the US Embassy even without a court order.

After Smith was returned to embassy custody Washington announced they would resume the Balikatan exercises scheduled in 2007.

Smith, a participant in the Balikatan, was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping “Nicole” in the former US military base in Subic Bay, Olongapo on Nov. 1, 2005. – Pia Lee-Brago