Defense deal: An impeachment issue

From the Manila Standard Today (Jul 5): Defense deal: An impeachment issue



Militants clash with anti-riot policemen at T.M. Kalaw
Street in Ermita near the US Embassy to protest the
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement on
Philippine-US Friendship Day. In Sta. Mesa, students
of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines burn
a US flag to rally against the defense pact. LINO
SANTOS, DANNY PATA

THE signing of the new US-PH military agreement may prove to be another ground for President Benigno Aquino’s III’s impeachment, Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said on Friday.

He said the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement ushered in a “new age of American colonial expansionism” that clashed with the 1987 Constitution.

“The Philippine Constitution clearly states that our sovereign nation should pursue an independent foreign policy,” Ridon said.

“By approving the EDCA, President Benigno Aquino III may have committed another culpable violation of the Constitution apart from his liability over the Disbursement Acceleration Program,” Ridon said.

He was referring to Article II Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution that says “The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination.”

Signed last April, the EDCA seeks to expand US military activity in the Philippines through increased rotational presence and the use of Philippine military bases.

Philippine officials had earlier revealed that under EDCA, the US military would be able to gain access to three to five Philippine military bases, including those in Fort Magsaysay and Subic.

US troops would also have rent-free access to bases, camps, facilities, roads, ports and unspecified “agreed locations” in the Philippines.

“EDCA is clearly a lopsided deal that will usher in a renewed era of American occupation in the Philippines. The Aquino regime has let this deal pass without the benefit of public scrutiny and without considering its dire ramifications for our country,” Ridon said.

“Nowhere in the agreement can one find a commitment for defense against foreign military aggression. Worse, we can’t even sue the US for violations of the terms of agreement. Not in Philippine courts, not in international tribunals. It’s a clear travesty of our sovereignty and a grave violation of our Constitution.”

Several petitions have already been lodged at the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the EDCA.

“We are confident that the SC will once again strike this access agreement down as unconstitutional. And when that moment comes, Aquino should be ready to pack his things and go,” Ridon said.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/07/05/defense-deal-an-impeachment-issue/