EDITORIAL – Lay down the terms

So it’s not just in the Philippines where security officials shoot their mouths off about the most sensitive issues. The other day cable TV news, wire agencies and major US newspapers, quoting an unnamed source in the Pentagon, reported that up to 3,000 American soldiers were being deployed in the Philippines not just to participate in military training exercises but to join actual combat operations. The Americans, the source reportedly said, would be sent out together with Philippine soldiers to "disrupt and defeat" Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in Sulu.

There were immediate denials from Malacañang and the Department of National Defense. That few people believed the denials should worry the administration. At the very least, people suspected that the story was leaked to gauge Filipinos’ reaction to a possible violation of a constitutional ban on the deployment of foreign troops for combat in the Philippines. The stories got wilder; the Pentagon reportedly wanted the constitutional prohibition waived. Yesterday President Arroyo’s spokesman dismissed the source of the stories in the Pentagon – a certain Colonel Davis – as a "smart-alecky" official who did not know what he was talking about.

The first Balikatan, held in Basilan for six months last year, succeeded in driving out the main Abu Sayyaf group from the island. Near the end of the war games, Philippine troops killed the Abu Sayyaf’s flamboyant spokesman, Abu Sabaya, in a sea chase off the Zamboanga peninsula. Of the three remaining Abu Sayyaf hostages, American Gracia Burnham was rescued but her husband Martin and Filipina nurse Edibora Yap were killed. The guerrillas, led by Khadaffi Janjalani, have since relocated to Sulu.

Successive surveys shortly before and during the first Balikatan showed high public approval for the joint war games. The second Balikatan could enjoy similar public support – if the administration does not give the impression that it is trying to hide something from the nation.

The only way to end speculation is to approve new terms of reference that will govern the conduct of the "Balikatan 03-1" in Sulu. If the TOR for the first war games in Basilan will simply be adopted, this must be formally agreed upon by both countries. The new TOR, including any revisions, must again be made public, if only to reassure everyone that it was Malacañang after all and not the Pentagon that was telling the truth about the conduct of Balikatan 03-1.