Hosting of disaster relief exercise in RP legal - DFA

MANILA, Philippines - There is no legal obstacle to the Philippines and the United States hosting the first ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Field Disaster Response Exercise in Metro Manila and Central Luzon even with foreign troops from member countries participating, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya and Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim said “it’s all systems go” for the ARF exercise after the Department of Justice (DOJ) had given its legal opinion that ASEAN member countries taking part in the exercise do not require a status of forces agreement (SOFA) or a special treaty to allow foreign troops to participate.

“The DOJ said there is no constitutional obstacle to undertake this exercise. This is essentially civilian disaster exercise and there will be no need for SOFA because there would be no special treatment or status for participating elements of other countries except for those which are already covered by an existing agreement,” Malaya said.

He said the DFA made consultations with the DOJ on possible constitutional constraints against foreign troops participating in the exercise.

“(The DOJ) read the constitutional provision on basing arrangement and their advice is that it is not covered by the requirements on basing arrangement and there is a required SOFA only in the case of those troops that are significant and permanent,” Lim added.

Malaya said Manila’s hosting the ARF Voluntary Demonstration of Response (VDR) on Disaster Relief was the decision of the ARF Ministers in Singapore in July 2008.

Malaya and Lim said the civilian-led and military-supported exercise with more than 300 delegates from 20 ARF member countries is a regional disaster response effort.

“The (foreign) troops are more of a supportive role. The troops would include the medical team and this is primarily a civilian exercise and secondarily using the military,” Malaya said.

The European Union is also sending representatives to the exercise.

Six experts from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, and Sweden and led by Saa Borko, Policy Officer of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment-Civil Protection, will showcase the EU disaster-preparedness model during their visit to the Philippines.

Lim stressed the need for the Philippines to host the exercise.

He said the country had gone through a lot of disasters, often forcing the government to request outside assistance in identified specific areas for international response “but none of them would have required any umbrella agreement.”

National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Administrator Glenn Rabonza said no SOFA or special treaty is required for the exercise because the foreign troops would be staying in the country not more than 21 days.

“None of these (foreign military) forces will stay here beyond 21 days,” Rabonza said.

According to Rabonza, Japan would bring in a U2, a maritime rescue aircraft with the size of a C130 that can land and take off at sea.

He said Japan would also send medical workers, Red Cross members and responders.

Co-host US will have a small contingent represented by a planner from the US embassy, while China will send only one observer from the embassy.

Australia will have 20 representatives from environmental health and dental health.

The ARF VDR on Disaster Relief will take place on May 4 to 8. It would be the first field exercise since ARF, the principal forum for security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific with 27 member countries established in 1994.

The exercise intends to elevate the ARF dialogues to an actual display of national capacities for assisting member countries in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The civilian-led and military-supported exercise is intended to further enhance the capacities and capabilities and improve interoperability of participants in multinational relief operations.

The exercise will also provide participants the opportunity to actually carry out humanitarian assistance missions amongst ARF members in simulated wide-scale disaster.

The VDR will involve a scenario where Metro Manila and Central Luzon are devastated by a super typhoon. A scenario would be made where widespread catastrophic destruction leaves thousands of people dead and tens of thousands more displaced, infrastructure damage becomes more severe with public services interruption and outbreak of diseases.

ARF member countries will offer assistance to the Philippines in response to its request for international humanitarian relief.

Areas of demonstration include land, air, and maritime search and rescue, medical assistance/evacuation and engineering reconstruction.