ACADEMIC DISCUSSION | US can engage in combat as long as PH has 'absolute control' - De Lima

From InterAksyon (Apr 8): ACADEMIC DISCUSSION | US can engage in combat as long as PH has 'absolute control' - De Lima



File photo of US Marines during the Balikatan joint military exercises

So long as the Philippine government allows it and retains “absolute control,” foreign forces can be directly involved in any local military or law enforcement operation, Justice Leila de Lima said Wednesday.

In the case of Oplan Exodus, the disastrous Special Action Force mission to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” in his lair in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, De Lima said the questions that should be asked about American involvement should not be about “the extent or type of US participation” but “the degree of control the Philippine government exercised over the operation.”

Stressing that what she was presenting was an “academic discussion” on how much participation American or foreign troops can be allowed in the country, De Lima said: “The bottom line is the ability of the Philippine government to determine for itself the extent of US involvement and the full exercise of its control in making decisions on the what, who, when and how of a particular operation.”

Earlier in the hearing, sacked SAF commander Getulio Napenas confirmed that at least two Americans were at his tactical command post providing “real-time information” on the situation in the area of operations, specifically that of the 84th SAF Seaborne, the unit tasked to get Marwan, with four others outside, and that more US personnel arrived on January 26 to help evacuate casualties.

Napenas also confirmed that Americans provided training before Exodus and also gave similar assistance on at least two previous operations, both failures, but that no US personnel were involved in actual combat.

While Marwan is now confirmed to have been killed, the ensuing clash also claimed the lives of 44 SAF commandos, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters and at least three civilians, leaving the Mindanao peace process in the balance and President Benigno Aquino III facing the worst political crisis of his term.

De Lima stressed that foreign affairs is the “competency of the executive branch,” which is why it can “enter into agreements not needing the concurrence of the Senate” to enhance the country’s security, “especially against terrorist threats,” apparently referring to the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US.

Constitutional and legal limits

She said there are only three constitutional and legal limits to the extent of foreign military activity in the country: the prohibition against permanent military bases, freedom from nuclear weapons, and “the general principle of an independent foreign policy and non-intervention” in sovereign affairs.

In fact, she said, a 2002 Supreme Court decision “provides only broad limitations” on allowable activities for joint military cooperation, and that the “VFA contains no limitations on what activities will be covered.”

While acknowledging that “some quarters will draw the line on the involvement of foreign personnel in actual combat,” with which she said agreed, De Lima nevertheless pointed out that, "this is the least of our concerns” because the VFA also allowed this if “absolutely necessary for self-defense in in defense of their troops.”

“But granting that there were American boots on the ground,” she added, stressing that “this is tsismis (rumors),” does this ipso facto mean the Constitution has been violated?”

“What determines the limit of US participation in military or law enforcement operations is not the type of operation, or advice … but the degree of control or decision-making the Philippine government exercises,” De Lima stressed.

Thus, “as laid down in the VFA,” American involvement in Oplan Exodus “presents no violation of independence.”

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/108423/academic-discussion--us-can-engage-in-combat-as-long-as-ph-has-absolute-control---de-lima