Group slams presence of 4,000 US troops in PH

MANILA, Philippines - Fisherfolk group Pamalakaya is now up in arms over the presence of nearly 4,000 United States troops supported by 30 military aircraft in the country.

"How come the Philippine government has allowed more than 4,000 US military forces to come to the country on rapid deployment mode and rotation basis?" Pamalakaya Vice Chairperson Salvador France said. 

He also scored the staging of this year's joint military exercises between the US and the Philippine forces, saying this will only intensify the frequent docking of US warships in many ports of the country and the rapid deployment of  thousands of American military forces under the Visiting Forces Agreement. 

"Imagine an average of 3,000 to 4,000 US troops come here almost every quarter or semi-annually just for VFA," France said. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said over 8,000 Philippine and American troops will participate in this year’s Balikatan military exercises, which will be held from April 5 to 17. 

The local military said that of  the 30 aircraft, 20 will come from the US military. 

Pamalakaya learned that 14 of which have already arrived in Clark Air Base, Pampanga last Monday while the rest will start to arrive  this week and early next week. 

The  AFP said US air assets will be utilized for joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief-focused military training in Central Luzon and will also provide air logistics support and services to the participating troops of both countries.

It added that the USS Tortuga, the only US Navy ship taking part in the annual military exercise docked in Manila Bay on Tuesday to offload military personnel and equipment for the exercises.