Groups term US access pact ‘unconstitutional’

From the Daily Tribune (Mar 15): Groups term US access pact ‘unconstitutional’

A militant group and a human rights lawyer have branded Manila’s reported deal with Washington which allows American troops access to Philippine military bases as unconstitutional.

“The Philippine government will violate the Constitution and our national sovereignty if it allows the unlimited and unqualified use of Philippine bases and facilities by US forces,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), in a statement, said.

The mode of entering into an access pact through an executive agreement will violate the Constitution, it added.

“The Constitution expressly provides that no military bases will be allowed in the country unless through a treaty ratified by both parties. The route of an executive agreement is meant to fast-track the approval of the pact, skip the rigorous treaty-ratification process, while keeping as much of the details hidden from the public,” the group said.

Bayan said the proposed agreement exposes the so-called Framework Agreement with the US as truly a de facto basing agreement disguised as an access pact.

“The US will gain not only access but also the ability to set up their own facilities within RP facilities. The US forces will also be allowed to preposition weapons and equipment, on top of stationing and indefinite number of troops in the country for an indefinite period of time.”

It also challenged President Aquino to order the full public disclosure of the details of the proposed agreement.

“We will oppose this access agreement in the streets and before the Supreme Court if it is signed. The increase in US troops does not serve national interest. It will not lead to a substantial modernization of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), nor will it help our cause against the incursions made by China.”

Lawyer Edre Olalia, secretary general of National Union of People’s Lawyer’s (NUPL), for his part, noted that the Philippine government’s reported offer of US is presumptively unconstitutional.

The proposed deal “is another shameless circumvention and quickie fix over clear and categorical constitutional injunctions against foreign military troops, bases and facilities in the country. It will condone past and inspire future transgressions of our sovereignty, contempt for our legal processes and jurisdiction,” he said in a phone interview.

There was optimism the pact could be secured ahead of US President Barack Obama’s April visit to Manila.

Olalia also charged that “US troops will be upgraded from covert operations, intelligence gathering and so-called ‘port calls’ to practically overt combat, direct command and virtual basing.”

With its military capabilities dwarfed by China’s the Philippines has been looking for more diplomatic and military support from the United States, its former colonial ruler and longtime ally.

A decades-long dispute over rival claims to parts of the South China Sea has sharply worsened over the past two years, with the Philippines accusing China of bullying and violating international laws.

Among the recent flare-ups, Manila accused the Chinese coastguard of firing a water cannon on January 27 at two Filipino fishing boats near a shoal that is within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

The Philippines then said Chinese ships blocked Filipino vessels from bringing food to Filipino marines on another shoal within its territory.

Both outcrops lie many hundreds of kilometers away from the nearest Chinese landmass, but China claims most of the sea, even waters approaching the coasts of its neighbors.

American forces were forced to pull out of major military bases in the Philippines in 1992, ending nearly a century of military presence, amid a rental dispute and rising anti-American sentiment.

But since 2002 several hundred Special Forces troops on short term deployments have training Filipino counterparts who are fighting Islamic militants in Mindanao.    

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/groups-term-us-access-pact-unconstitutional