Category: EDCA

Click here for the full text of the EDCA petition

Another petition filed by BAYAN and sectoral congressmen against EDCA:
Final Bayan PETITION EDCA SC

Today, various individuals and groups, appalled by the mockery of the Constitution and complete disregard of the historic Senate vote ending the U.S. bases era on Sept. 16, 1991 by the Aquino government, are filing with the Supreme Court today a petition to declare the recently-signed PH-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement as unconstitutional.

Leading the petitioners are former Senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tanada, two of the 12 who voted to kick the US Bases out in 1991. Steve Salonga, will be signing the petition for his father, former Senate President Jovito Salonga. (The other nine senators who voted to oust the U.S. bases were Agapito “Butz” Aquino, Joseph Estrada, Teofisto Guingona Jr, Sotero Laurel II, Ernesto Maceda Jr, Orlando Mercado, Aquilino Pimentel Jr, Victor Ziga, and Juan Ponce Enrile.)

The Center for International Law, represented by Harry Roque and Romel Bagares, leads the group petitioners which also include the Concerned Citizens Movement.

EDCA was signed by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg hours before the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama in Manila last May 28.

EDCA allows the Americans to build bases inside military camps (euphemism inEDCA: agreed locations). If there are no military camps in places that the Americans want, the Philippine government will build a base in the area. Example: the Americans want to return to Subic, once their naval base. Since Subic is now an economic zone, the Philippine Air Force will be building a camp there so an American base can be established.

The petitioners said “The postcolonial history of the relations between Philippines and of the United States of America is akin to that of an unequal and exploitative love affair. There was one shining moment however, when the Philippines grew a backbone and finally decided that it will no longer be a doormat for the US. On September 16, 1991, despite pressure from the Executive and the US government itself, and risking their political careers, twelve Senators rejected a proposed treaty that would have extended to another 10 years one of United States’ most strategic bases, the Subic Naval Base (at this point, the Clark Air Force Base had already been closed due to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo).

The historic Senate vote ended 470 years of U.S. military presence in the country, during which time the Philippines nurtured dependency on the U.S.

The petitioner said, “Sadly, this sense of nationalism and desire for genuine independence has been steadily eroded and even eclipsed. From the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Mutual Logistics and Support Agreement (MLSA) which allowed the return and servicing of US military forces and war materiel inside Philippine territory, to the secret negotiations and rushed passage of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), the lack of the Philippine government’s resolve to uphold and protect Philippine sovereignty and national interest has never been more apparent.”

“The EDCA is a clear departure from and reversal of the stand taken by the Philippine Senate in 1991. Its terms and conditions put the country in an even worse situation than what would have transpired if the US-RP Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace that was sent to the Senate for ratification had not been rejected.

“The Executive has circumvented the correct and brave stand taken by the Philippine Senate in 1991 in refusing to renew the RP-US bases treaty by illegally entering into the EDCA.”

President Aquino decided not to submit EDCA to the Senate for ratification despite the Constitutional ban on foreign military b, troops, and facilities except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate…”

The petitioners said, “At the very least, it should be expected that the Philippine government comply with Constitutional requirements when entering into international treaties and agreements. At best, the Philippine government should negotiate the best possible terms for a just and equitable agreement.

“In both aspects, the Executive has miserably failed. Not only is the EDCA a violation of the Philippine Constitution, it also does not provide any substantial, long-term real benefit, much less distinct advantage or improvement in our position vis-à-vis the United States.”

The presence of U.S. military bases in the country then was likened to rape – an assault on the Philippine sovereignty.

The Philippines got raped again but this time,sad to say, it was rape with consent (of the Aquino government.)

It is the petitioners’ prayer that the Supreme Court stops the sellout.

In the Facebook wall of Dennis Carcia, musician, advertising executive, painter and Abante columnist, there’s a picture of Obama signaling something with two fingers.

Dennis captioned it: “EDCA:I can summarize the agreement in two words- NO RENTAL. “

The post elicited a comment from Noy Dy-Liacco: “I can do it in one: FREE!

The banter is a spoof of the TV musical game show “Name the Tune.”

EDCA is Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a document so detestable it makes a mockery of the Philippine Constitution and ridicules Philippine sovereignty.

When we read the EDCA signed by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg on the day that Obama arrived for a two-day state visit, we wanted to line up those responsible for EDCA against the wall so we can tell the Filipino people: “Here are the officials who sold us out again to the United States.”

Who are they?

The Philippine panel was headed by Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino. Members included The Ambassador Lourdes Yparraguirre, Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya, Justice Department Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, and DND Assistant Secretary for strategic assessments Raymund Jose Quilop.

We all know that the panel was getting instructions from the Del Rosario and Gazmin. The two cabinet secretaries reported to President Aquino and nothing in EDCA was without the approval of the chief executive.

At the start of the negotiations, the DFA representative in the panel was Assistant Secretary Carlos “King” Sorreta, considered an expert in American affairs. Early this year, Sorreta was removed from the panel and Yparraguirre, ambassador to Austria and Malaya, ambassador to Malaysia were brought in.

The talk in the DFA was that Sorreta was opposing a number of items in the draft agreement which he felt were in blatant violation of Philippine sovereignty. Del Rosario and Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose L. Cuisia Jr., who were willing to give wholeheartedly what the Americans wanted, were annoyed with Sorreta’s stand.

A source said, Sorreta was heard to comment during the negotiations: “I think we should put the country’s interest ahead of personal business interests.” Del Rosario and Cuisia were businessmen before joining foreign service.

Now Sorreta is relegated to the Foreign Service Institute.

EDCA is a basing agreement. No amount of euphemism by Malaya and other officials will cure the Constitutional violation caused by this agreement. The worse about it is that those American bases are within the Philippine military camps!

The “Agreed Locations”, as what EDCA calls the U.S. bases within the military camps, will not be accessible to Philippine officials without the consent of the Americans.

EDCA states that “United States forces shall have the control over the access to and disposition of such prepositioned materiel and shall have unencumbered right to move such prepositioned materiel at any time from the territory of the Philippines.”

EDCA also stated that “United States forces are authorized to exercise all rights and authority within the Agreed Locations that are necessary for their operational control or defense, including taking appropriate measures to protect United States forces and United States contractors.”

One of the elements of a State is sovereignty – the supreme right of the state to command obedience within the state.

With EDCA, the Philippines has waived its sovereignty over parts of its territory. Without sovereignty over our whole territory, what are we?

And we are granting this for free.

Actually “sell out” is not an accurate term because we are giving the Philippine to the U.S. for free. “Without rental” is the term used in EDCA.

Some said since the Aquino government has discarded all pretenses of being an American lackey, it should have allowed the U.S. to establish again their military bases in the country and negotiated for a good price.

Former senator Rene Saguisag has a better suggestion: Let the U.S. build a military base in Ayungin Shoal.

There are many more detestable provisions in EDCA. Hopefully, that would be brought out to the public in the Senate inquiry (not for ratification) that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV called for.