Phl, US to sign new 10-year defense deal

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and the United States will sign today a deal that will provide American troops with greater access to military bases in the country.

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, crafted amid China’s posturing in the West Philippine Sea, would be signed at around 10 a.m. at Camp Aguinaldo, defense department spokesman Peter Galvez said yesterday.

Galvez said the text of the accord was finalized over the weekend. Details of the pact were not immediately available but sources said the agreement has a timeframe of 10 years.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin will ink the agreement for Manila while US Ambassador Philip Goldberg will sign for Washington.

Galvez said the signing of the pact is not likely to be witnessed by US President Barack Obama, who is arriving today for a two-day state visit.

“The agreement is expected to significantly enhance our defense readiness and capabilities,” Galvez said in a phone interview.

“It is an indicator of our ever-developing relationship with the US, which was forged through years of history and alliance,” he added.

The Philippines and the US have agreed to create a new defense pact amid concerns over China’s aggressive efforts to assert its territorial claims in the region.

The Philippines, a long-time ally of the US, is embroiled in a territorial row with China over areas in the potentially oil and gas-rich West Philippine Sea.

The US said it won’t take sides on the dispute but has backed efforts to settle the disagreement through international arbitration, a mechanism that China has refused to recognize.

Officials believe that the Philippines, widely regarded as the weakest in the region in terms of military might, will achieve “minimum credible defense” because of the agreement.

The signing of the deal, which officials claim is an offshoot of the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement, is seen to draw condemnations from activists who have vowed to question its legality before the courts.

The agreement, a product of eight rounds of talks that started last August, was seen by militant groups as a way to circumvent the Constitution to bring back US bases.

No violations

Galvez, however, gave assurance that the new deal will not violate the country’s sovereignty.

“We assure the critics that the agreement is within our Constitution,” he said.

Critics have questioned the legality of the enhanced defense cooperation deal even before it was completed.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, an international law expert, previously said the deal would have to secure the Senate’s approval.

She said any agreement involving the posting of troops and war equipment in another sovereign state is a treaty.

The senator believes it would not be right for the government to invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the US as “prior treaty” because allowing foreign troops and equipment on Philippine soil “is a major subject in itself” and “not a minor case of detail.”

Santiago said the executive branch should allow the Senate to scrutinize the deal otherwise it may be questioned before the Supreme Court.

The Philippine negotiating panel, however, believes the deal does not require Senate approval because it would just be an “implementing agreement” of previous treaties.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), for its part, labeled the Aquino administration as a “puppet” for allowing more US military assets to be stationed in the country.

“The agreement is no other than a military basing agreement as it will allow the US military to maintain its facilities, station its troops for rest and recreation, dock its sea vessels, land its jetfighters, operate its spy drones and plan, prepare and launch operations, including power projection maneuvers and wars of aggression within and outside the region,” the CPP said in a statement.

The deal, the CPP said, would “virtually re-establish US colonial rule in the Philippines.”

Officials have repeatedly said that the enhanced defense cooperation agreement was guided by non-permanence of US troops in Philippine territory, non-exclusivity of use of facilities by the US side, and mutuality of benefits.

Palace all set

Law enforcement authorities led by the Philippine National Police – in coordination with the Presidential Security Group and the US Secret Service – are all set for the arrival of Obama, according to Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

Anti-US protests are expected and will be allowed, but rallies should be peaceful, Coloma said yesterday.

He said Obama’s visit will give President Aquino the opportunity to pursue the country’s strategic partnership with America as an ally.

“As he meets with President Obama, President Aquino will convey the country’s vision for an enduring and strategic Philippine-US partnership that will be characterized by modern, mature and forward looking bilateral relations,” Coloma said.

Bilateral ties in three fronts are expected to improve – on “strengthening political and security cooperation, expanding trade and investments, tourism and development cooperation, and deepening people-to-people ties.”

Obama’s Air Force One will arrive at 1:30 p.m. at the AGES Aviation Center. He will be welcomed at Malacañang grounds 30 minutes later, sign the Guestbook at the Reception Hall and have a photo opportunity with Aquino at the Music Room.

An expanded bilateral meeting will follow at 2:25 p.m. at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room.

Press statements from both panels will be disseminated an hour later, followed by a 4 p.m. joint press conference at the President’s Hall.

Obama, who just came from Malaysia and Korea over the weekend, will have his “private time” and return to the Palace at 7 p.m. in preparation for the state dinner at the Rizal Hall, where some 300 guests have been invited.

He has no scheduled official activity with the Palace tomorrow, but is expected to return to the US shortly before noon.

Improved economy

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday Obama’s visit is expected to boost the country’s economy and security.

DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the trip “is a celebration of our enduring relations, a reaffirmation of the vigor of our strategic partnership and alliance, and the strength of our people-to-people ties.”

Meanwhile, American businessmen in the country are hoping for improved trade and security relations between the Philippines and the US with Obama’s visit.

In a statement, members of the American Chamber of Commerce Philippines yesterday said they are hoping that “the Philippines will be welcomed into the group of countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the earliest opportunity to help sustain high levels of economic growth needed for the Filipino people to enjoy better lives in future years.”

‘Stop extrajudicial killings’

The Human Rights Watch, on the other hand, yesterday urged Obama to press the Aquino administration to fulfill its pledge to stop extrajudicial killings and send violators to jail.

In a letter sent to Obama last month, the Human Rights Watch called on the US leader to raise human rights issues during his visit to Manila.

“The Philippines remains a risky place for an outspoken activist or muckraking journalist,” Human Rights Watch Asia advocacy director John Sifton said in a statement.

“People taking on powerful local interests all too frequently make the news as victims, and those responsible for killings are almost never prosecuted,” he said.

The group said that while the Aquino administration has undertaken reform efforts in some areas, it failed to end impunity for extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances.

Therefore, he said, Napoles is qualified to become state witness in the plunder cases set to be filed in the Sandiganbayan.

He cited the Commission on Audit special report, which showed that only 10 of the 84 non-government organiza- tions involved in alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund – official name of the pork barrel declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last year – belonged to Napoles.

“How can she be the mastermind when her NGOs only formed part of the entire picture? Even the COA report showed that none of her NGO was the first to be involved in such operation. We’re very sure that she’s not the mastermind,” Rivera said.

As to the mounting calls for the DOJ to make public Napoles’ list, Rivera sup- ported the position of De Lima to stay put.

“I hope they give us more time. If these lawmakers are confident that they are not involved and they will not be in the list, then there should be no reason for them to worry,” he said.

Rivera said Napoles is still recovering from her surgery last week. She has not been monitoring the developments in the media, he said.

Rivera added his client is also not yet ready to answer clarificatory questions from the DOJ as part of the verification process on her affidavit. Napoles is still suffering from stomach pains and was advised by the doctors not to talk for long hours. – With Delon Porcalla, Mayen Jaymalin, Helen Flores