Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

US troops fuel insecurity crisis in the Philippines: BAYAN-USA calls on US government to terminate Visiting Forces Agreement

September 16 marks the historic Philippine Senate vote to reject the renewal of a US military bases treaty, but recent declarations by US and Philippine defense officials reveal their desire to erase history in order to secure the future of US imperialism and the Philippine elite who benefit from it.

Responding to decades of protest demanding that US bases in the Philippines be shut down, the 12-11 Senate vote on September 16, 1991 effectively ejected US troops from the country. In a clear affront to Philippine sovereignty and the will of the people, however, the controversial US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement was enacted shortly thereafter in 1999. Since then, tens of thousands of US soldiers, commanders, advisors, special operatives, and other military personnel have flooded back into the country, along with nearly $1 billion worth of military aid and materiel.

Despite massive demonstrations, senate and congressional hearings, and a Supreme Court review of the constitutionality of the agreement in the Philippines, president after president in both countries has staunchly defended the reviled agreement. In a phone call in March and a state meeting in July with President Gloria Arroyo this year, President Barack Obama affirmed his support for the Visiting Forces Agreement and continuing the annual joint military exercises known as “Balikatan” (“Shoulder-to-Shoulder”). “Despite his rhetoric of ‘change,’ President Obama and his cabinet have clung to Bush’s foreign policy when it comes to the Philippines,” said BAYAN-USA Chair Berna Ellorin.

At the end of last month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the US has been keeping a 600-strong Joint Special Operations Task Force in the Philippines since 1999, and that the US intends to maintain the forces there indefinitely. Gates’ announcement was followed by a visit from Philippine Defense Secretary and presidential aspirant Gilberto Teodoro, who last week pledged his commitment to the Visiting Forces Agreement and continued “cooperation” with the US military.

“Declaring the ‘permanent and continuous presence’ of US troops is like giving a life sentence to the Philippines,” said Ellorin. “Indefinite military presence holds the Philippines prisoner to the failed Bush-Cheney military doctrine, sacrificing the Philippines’ sovereignty for a policy that has fueled thousands of human rights violations against innocent civilians and made the world less safe for everyone.”

Testimony from whistleblower Lt. Senior Grade Nancy Gadian earlier this month further exposed that the US government is using the Visiting Forces Agreement to justify virtual military bases and to allow American personnel to participate in actual combat operations in the Philippines, in clear violation of the country’s sovereignty. More evidence of this fact has been uncovered in research by Professor Roland G. Simbulan , who cites an article in the MILITARY REVIEW (May-June 2004) of the US Army Combined Arms Center, former Joint Special Operations Task Force - Philippines (JSOTF-P) Commander Col. David Maxwell, US Army, which said that the mission of the JSOTF-P in the Philippines “is to conduct unconventional warfare in the Philippines through, by, and with the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” with “unconventional warfare” defined as including guerilla warfare, subversion, sabotage, and assisted recover.” Professor Simbulan concludes that Maxwell’s article “in fact, implied that the Balikatan exercises under the VFA were just a disguise for counter-terrorist operations.”

“With thousands of Filipino civilians getting caught in the crossfire and tens of millions of US taxpayer dollars spent on these war games, the biggest losers in this equation are everyday people in both the Philippines and the US,” said Ellorin. “The US military machine is using us as human shields in a power play to enhance its geopolitical interests in the world, at the cost of innocent lives and money that is desperately needed for education, health care, affordable housing, and other domestic services.”

On this historic day and in the spirit of those who marched the streets of Manila for the termination of the US bases treaty 18 years ago, we demand that the US government end its military presence and intervention in the Philippines. We demand the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement, a one-sided treaty that legitimizes the presence of US troops in the Philippines and provides legal protection for US soldiers who commit crimes while on duty in the Philippines. We demand that not one more cent of our tax dollars be spent on military aid for the Philippines.

Today we honor the Filipino people who have steadfastly challenged and resisted US imperialism in the Philippines. We add our voices to the efforts of organizations throughout the Philippines and worldwide which oppose the presence of US troops, bases, military occupation, and war.

One of two overseas chapters of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN Philippines, BAYAN-USA is an alliance of 14 progressive Filipino organizations in the US representing women, youth, students, scholars and working people. BAYAN-USA launched a petition site calling for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement that can be accessed at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow/. The said petition is addressed to US President Barack Obama and will be presented to him this year.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Los Angeles, CA — On early Saturday morning, Filipino Americans launched a lightning rally to greet Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her mini-junket at the Sheraton Gateway near Los Angeles International Airport. The lightning rally was one of many demonstrations across the Philippines and around the world in recent days to protest the passage of the House Resolution 1109 to convene a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), considered the latest move of the US-Arroyo regime to change the Philippine Charter (Cha Cha) and further undermine democracy in the Philippines.

BAYAN-USA & GABRIELA USA’s member organizations began the lightning rally, marching to a rendition of “Bayan Ko” carrying “No to Con-Ass” and “No to Cha-Cha” signs, AnakBayan LA, Habi Arts and Sisters of GABRIELA Awaken (SiGAw) members expressed their anger at the US-Arroyo regime’s desperate Con-Ass maneuver to hold on to power. Fil-Ams were also demanding justice for fellow Habi Arts member, Melissa Roxas, a US Citizen who was abducted and tortured by armed men last May while doing community health work in the Philippines. A street theater piece highlighting the on-going human rights violations was dedicated to Roxas, Jonas Burgos, Karen Empeno, Sherlyn Kadapan, James Balao, Juanito Carabeo, John Edward Jandoc and all other victims of the US-Arroyo regime. With a thunderous outcry denouncing Arroyo, the protestors drowned out the cheers of US-Arroyo supporters as Arroyo was escorted back to LAX. The morning rally was concluded with an “Arroyo, You’re A Jerk” hip hop dance circle led by AnakBayan Los Angeles.

“Con-Ass and Charter Change are lame attempts for Arroyo and her cronies to stay in power. They all hoped that the Filipino people would not care enough to notice, but the public outcry of our people in the Philippines, the US and all over the world prove that the people are wise and keen on her trickery,” declared Daya Mortel, BAYAN-USA Southern California Regional Coordinator and Habi Arts member. “She has tried every trick in the book short of declaring Martial Law. Wherever she may go, there will be people who will protest and criticize her abuse of power.”

“Con-Ass is the biggest threat to democracy and the Filipino people today,” stated Kuusela Hilo, Vice Chairperson of BAYAN-USA and member of AnakBayan LA. “The Filipino people have suffered under the US-Arroyo regime, and for Arroyo to position herself as Prime Minister or declare martial law would only mean more suffering and repression for our people.”

The rapes of “Nicole” and “Vanessa” and the devastation wrought on civilians by the annual Balikatan military exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement have drawn increasing criticism from all sectors of Philippine society. “GMA has turned her back on Filipina women and all other Filipinos by railroading our Constitution and the democratic process. If Con-Ass and Cha-Cha are pushed through, foreigners will be able to own the natural resources of the country and Filipinas will continue to be violated by US troops in the Philippines,” said Terrie Cervas, Vice Chairperson of GABRIELA USA and founding member of SiGAw. Cervas concluded, “By rewriting the Philippine Constitution, the Philippines will be victim to 100% foreign ownership of industries and re-installation of permanent military US presence, beyond supposed ‘temporary’ posts already in place under the Visiting Forces Agreement.” For the last ten years, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) has paved the way for US military advisers, troops and equipment to train and equip the Philippine military which has been implicated in 1,017 extra-judicial killings and 1,010 cases of torture.

“The fact that Arroyo tried to visit LA unnoticed is very telling,” said Mortel. “She knew she could not come to LA, the hometown of Melissa Roxas, without facing unanswered questions of why her government has not done a thorough probe into the abduction and torture of Roxas and her companions. Or why hundreds of others have been disappeared and why thousands of other victims have yet to receive justice.”

BAYAN-USA will continue to campaign against Con-Ass and Cha-Cha. BAYAN-USA will also be working with national alliances and human rights organizations in the United States to demand justice for Melissa Roxas and all other victims of human rights violations. “We do not want any of our hard-earned US tax dollars funding Philippine death squads,” said Hilo. “Senator Barbara Boxer sponsored a hearing on the human rights crisis in the Philippines just two years ago in Washington DC, and we will be asking Senator Boxer and other elected officials to take Melissa Roxas’ case seriously, to take a stand to defend a US citizen that has survived abduction and torture, and to require that not one cent of US taxes be used to fund human rights violations in the Philippines.”

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the US representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the US. BAYAN-USA’s online petition against the VFA can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow. The online petition to demand justice for Roxas and her companions Juanito Carabeo, and John Edward Jandoc can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/online/28021.html.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

In the wake of the abduction of Filipino American human rights advocate and health worker Melissa Roxas and her companions Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc one week ago in the Philippines, BAYAN-USA launches actions against the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) today, the 10th anniversary of the VFA’s ratification.  BAYAN-USA demands the termination of the VFA and justice for victims of abduction and all human rights violations, which have climbed to record levels in the Philippines since the VFA was ratified on May 27, 1999.

“Human rights violations have escalated to unprecedented heights since 2001, when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo became president and the U.S. launched its ‘war on terror.’  It is no coincidence that the Visiting Forces Agreement was ratified just two years earlier in 1999,” stated BAYAN-USA Secretary General Rhonda Ramiro.  “The VFA paved the way for U.S. military advisers, troops and equipment to flood the Philippines and to train and equip the Philippine military which has been implicated in 1,017 extra-judicial killings and 1,010 cases of torture.  Melissa’s abduction adds an American citizen to the list of over 200 victims of enforced disappearance under Arroyo.”

Roxas, Carabeo, and Handoc, all members of a volunteer health worker team preparing for a medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac, Philippines, were reportedly abducted at gunpoint on May 19 by at least eight heavily-armed masked men riding motorcycles and in a van without license plates.  The circumstances of their abduction typify the pattern of dozens of politically-motivated abductions of activists critical of the Arroyo administration, and evidence points to the military as responsible for these acts.  Roxas and Carabeo were officially surfaced on May 24 and 25, respectively; unconfirmed reports of Handoc’s surfacing were received as of the writing of this statement.  Because the vast majority of abductions and enforced disappearances remain unresolved, BAYAN-USA believes their surfacing was a direct result of rapid community response and an international campaign by BAYAN Philippines, BAYAN-USA, and the human rights organization Karapatan.

“While we are elated that Melissa and Juanito have surfaced and that John Edward might also have been found, we are outraged that they were even abducted in the first place,” said Ramiro.  “We call for justice for all three, including a full investigation and prosecution of the abductors.”

“The abduction of Melissa, Juanito and John Edward is directly linked to the VFA and U.S. military aid to the Philippines,” continued Ramiro.  “The U.S. government cannot claim ignorance or wash its hands of responsibility, when it is U.S. advisors who are training the Philippine military, U.S. aid that is funding the military training, and U.S. guns and bullets that are being used to threaten and kill innocent civilians.”

BAYAN-USA claims that despite its rhetoric of “change,” the administration of President Barack Obama has clung to Bush’s foreign policy when it comes to the Philippines.  Earlier this year, President Obama phoned Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to express support for the VFA and continuing the annual joint military exercises known as “Balikatan” (“Shoulder-to-Shoulder”).   The estimated total expense borne by U.S. taxpayers for U.S. militarization in the Philippines since the VFA was enacted in 1999 is a lofty $1 billion.  An additional $660 million—up from a reported $400 million just one month ago—is reportedly set to be granted to the Philippines in the coming year.

The VFA also provides justification for the basing of U.S. troops throughout the country, in what is widely perceived as an affront to national sovereignty.  Moreover, witnesses have observed U.S. troops participating in combat operations, which is in violation of the VFA itself.  In the months of February-May this year alone, the “Balikatan” exercises also led directly to the killing of a young girl and wounding of four more children, the rape of 22 year old Filipina “Vanessa,” and the forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents in Bicol where the exercises were held.  No one was held responsible for the killing of the child, and although there was clear evidence that “Vanessa” was raped by a U.S. marine, she refrained from pressing charges because she did not believe she could obtain justice.  “Vanessa’s” rape was committed just weeks after the acquittal of U.S. Marine Daniel Smith, who was the only American ever convicted of raping a Filipina despite reports of thousands of rapes committed by U.S. military personnel.

“The VFA fosters a culture of militarization and violence, and both the U.S. and Philippine military are guilty of committing human rights violations with impunity,” stated Ramiro.  “Melissa’s abduction should give Congress and the Obama administration even more impetus to terminate the VFA and stop pouring billions of dollars into a regime that abducts and kills innocent people.  In the face of a budget deficit in the trillions, it is unconscionable to continue providing aid to the Arroyo government and to perpetuate the costly VFA.  Congress should cut both during the budget appropriations process this spring and summer.”

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the U.S. representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the U.S.  BAYAN-USA’s online petition against the VFA can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow.  The online petition to demand justice for Roxas, Carabeo, and Handoc can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/online/28021.html.

###

Actions being held in the US

Los Angeles
Vigil in front of the Philippine Consulate
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 7:30 PM
3600 Wilshire Blvd. (between S Harvard Blvd and S Kingsley Dr)
Los Angeles, CA 90010

New York
Rally at the Philippine Consulate and march to Military Recruitment Center
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 5:30 PM
556 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10036

San Francisco
Action and meeting with the Philippine Consulate
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 4:00 PM
447 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA 94108

Teach-in on the VFA
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 6:00-8:00 PM
At South of Market Community Action Center
1070 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

Seattle
Visiting Forces Agreement teach-In
Thursday, March 28, 6:30-8:30 PM
Filipino Community Center
5740 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Seattle, WA 98118

San Diego
“As If They Never Left” teach-in on the VFA
Thursday, May 28, 7:00-9:00 PM
At Filipino American Veterans Association Hall
2926 Market Street
San Diego, CA 92102

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Appalled by the double-news of the rape of another Filipina woman by a US Marine and the increase in US financial aid to the corrupt Philippine government, BAYAN-USA reiterated its call to terminate the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (“VFA”), which the alliance of 14 Filipino American organizations in the US sees as the red carpet used to usher in US troops, supplies, and military training linked to thousands of human rights violations.

Under the auspices of the VFA, over 6,000 US troops were deployed to the Philippines this past April, to engage in so-called Balikatan (“shoulder-to-shoulder”) military exercises.  In a press conference today, the 22-year-old Filipina “Vanessa” (not her real name) told the story of how she was raped in a hotel room on April 19 by a US Marine, registered in hotel records as “from Joint US Military Assistance Group/Balikatan.”  According to the women’s group GABRIELA, Vanessa has decided not to file a case against her alleged rapist though there is evidence to support her claim.

“We are outraged that another Filipina has become the victim of US troops, and that the VFA is blocking her from obtaining justice,” said BAYAN-USA Secretary General Rhonda Ramiro.  “Last month’s acquittal of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith signals that US military personnel can get away with the most heinous crimes on Philippine soil because they will be protected by the VFA.”

BAYAN-USA claims that despite its rhetoric of “change,” the administration of President Barack Obama has clung to Bush’s foreign policy when it comes to war and military deployment overseas.  Earlier this year, President Obama phoned Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to express support for the VFA and continuing the Balikatan joint military exercises.  The estimated total expense borne by US taxpayers for US militarization in the Philippines since the VFA was enacted nearly 10 years ago is a lofty $1 billion.  An additional $660 million—up from a reported $400 million just one month ago—is reportedly set to be spent over the next few years.

“The only ‘change’ we see is the change being pocketed by the Arroyo government to rape and terrorize the Filipino people,” declared Ramiro.  “Arroyo, her military, and multinational corporations are getting rich off the millions of dollars being paid by the US government to commit torture, abductions, false imprisonment, and ultimately extrajudicial killings to silence critics of Arroyo and her neoliberal economic policies.”

This latest rape case and report of increased aid to the Philippines comes on the heels of an April 29, 2009 report by Philip Alston, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, which states that the Philippine government has failed to institute the substantive reforms Alston recommended to address extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in the country.

“The fact that hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars are being used to commit rape and other human rights atrocities is unconscionable, especially now that we are in the midst of a depression,” stated Ramiro.  “The fact that the VFA is being funded and enforced by the Obama administration is hypocrisy, especially after President Obama promised hope and change.”

In response, BAYAN-USA has announced it will conduct a “Day of Action against the VFA” on May 27, 2009 which marks the 10th anniversary of the military agreement.  In synch with mobilizations in the Philippines calling for the termination of the VFA, the Day of Action will take place from coast-to-coast across the US in what will be the latest expression of the indignation felt by Filipino Americans over the trampling of Philippine sovereignty by US imperial interests.  In March, BAYAN-USA and GABRIELA USA launched an online “Junk VFA” petition, which garnered over 1,000 signatures in two weeks.  At the beginning of May, BAYAN-USA also met with the office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, to urge the representative—who is a member of the US House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations—to support the call for the termination of all military aid to the Philippines pending the Philippine government’s compliance with recommendations in the Alston report to stop human rights violations and prosecute the perpetrators.  The BAYAN-USA delegation also asked Representative Lee to introduce new legislation to stop the deployment of US troops to the Philippines unless the said recommendations are implemented and to terminate the VFA.

“BAYAN-USA’s Day of Action against the VFA will send Congress the message that nobody wins and everybody loses with the VFA,” said Ramiro.  “In the face of a budget deficit in the trillions and over 11 million people unemployed in the US, it simply makes no sense to continue providing aid to the Arroyo government and to perpetuate the costly VFA.  Congress should cut both during the budget appropriations process this spring and summer.”

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the US representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the US.  The online petition against the VFA can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

BAYAN-USA, an alliance of Filipino organizations in the United States, declared the recent court acquittal of US Marine Daniel Smith of a rape conviction back in 2006 as a collaborative move by the US and Arroyo governments to protect the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The controversial decision comes right after a Philippine Supreme Court (SC) ruling to probe into the circumstances surrounding the affidavit issued by rape victim Nicole and the leakage of a draft Court of Appeals (CA) ruling of acquittal for Smith last week, prompting CA officials to act fast.

The 2005 rape of 22 year-old Filipina Nicole leading to the 2006 trial and conviction US Lance Corporal Smith was a landmark case that marked the first time in the 100+ history of US military presence in the country that a US military personnel was actually convicted under the Philippine judicial system for a crime committed in the Philippines. But the events following the celebrated conviction, beginning with Smith’s transfer of custody from Philippine jurisdiction to the US Embassy drew such outrage and condemnation from the streets that it sparked a burgeoning patriotic movement inside Philippine Congress to abrogate the 10 year-old VFA military agreement, which allows for the “temporary basing” of US military troops in over 20 ports throughout the Philippine archipelago.

“Washington and Malacanang panicked,” states BAYAN USA Chair Berna Ellorin. “They needed to do something drastic to stunt the rallying opposition against the VFA. The sacrificial lambs they chose, without surprise, were a Filipina woman and Philippine national sovereignty. The Arroyo administration collaborated with the spin doctors of the US government to concoct this scheme to protect the VFA by undoing the last four years of the Nicole rape case. It’s very disgusting.”

Beginning with the historic conviction of Smith in 2006, the convicted rapist, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was whisked to the US Embassy to serve his sentence and not in a Philippine detention facility. This drew protests demanding the US government hand Smith over to Philippine jurisdiction. Both the US and Arroyo governments cited stipulations in the VFA protecting US military personnel in their defense of keeping Smith out of a Philippine jail. But a 2009 SC ruling to re-negotiate Smith’s detention from the US Embassy to a Philippine facility was met with refusal by US Embassy officials to follow. The blatant act of denial by the US government to hand over Smith to Philippine jurisdiction prompted several Philippine lawmakers in the Philippine Congress to introduce a bill calling for the termination of the military agreement. In the weeks following, a questionable affidavit was hastily filed by Nicole which served as basis for a so-called “recantation” of her original testimony. It was reported that Smith’s lawyers drafted the affidavit language and persuaded Nicole to sign it before Nicole took off for the United States. After the SC ruling to investigate the circumstances around the affidavit-signing, a Manila reporter leaked news of a draft acquittal for Smith by the Philippine Court of Appeals.

Earlier this year, US President Barack Obama paid Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a phone call expressing support for continuing joint military exercises conducted between US and Philippine troops in the Philippines known as Balikatan, under the auspices of the VFA. This month, over 6000 US troops were deployed to the Philippine regions of Bicol, Central and Southern Luzon, and Zamboanga to conduct the said exercises. The estimated total expense for US militarization in the Philippines since the VFA was enacted has cost US taxpayers a lofty $1 billion; an additional $400 million is set to be spent over the next 10 years.

But Ellorin argued that the anti-VFA movement in the Philippines is larger than the Smith-Nicole gang-rape case of 2005-2006. It is about the context of historical unequal relations between the US and Philippines governments, one in which the US government “dictates and takes from the Philippines whatever it wants to serve its self-interest” while the Philippine government “obeys with complete subservience to the negligence of its own people.”

“The US-Arroyo government partnership in the Smith acquittal has made a mockery of the Philippines, as well as victims of all Filipinos and future generations of Filipinos,” Ellorin concluded. “But it will not stop the movement to abrogate the VFA. In fact, Filipinos all over the world, including the US, will be more compelled to terminate not only the VFA, but the Arroyo presidency, now more than ever.”

BAYAN USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations in the United States, has been campaigning for the termination of the VFA and the withdrawal of US troops from the Philippines for four years. It even released an online petition calling for the abrogation of the VFA accessible at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow. The signed petition will be presented by the alliance to US lawmakers and the Obama administration this year.

Contact: Berna Ellorin
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Please visit: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow

After launching an international petition campaign last week, Filipino-Americans under the banner of the US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations in the United States, pledged to heighten their campaign to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), despite reports of  22 year old Filipina Nicole’s leaving for the United States and a submission filed before the Court of Appeals  by the lawyer of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith declaring that the former US Marine has settled with “Nicole,” who received P100,000  for compensatory and P50,000 for moral damages.

The news of Nicole’s settlement with Smith and release of a statement immediately followed President Barack Obama’s phone call to Philippine Head of State Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo supporting the joint military agreement between the US and Philippine governments.  It was with this phone call that Arroyo was widely criticized for failing to negotiate for the transfer of Smith to Philippine custody as per the Philippines Supreme Court’s decision.  Now, with reports of Nicole settling with Smith and going to the US for good, it is highly suspect  that  the reported settlement and statement which attempt to undermine  the guilty verdict against Smith, is part of the two government’s efforts to preserve their “strategic interests.”

Timing of Settlement Highly Questionable

“Filipinos are well aware of the fact that one cannot just suddenly move to the US. The timing and motives behind these recent turn of events are highly questionable given that it comes at the height of the movement to abrogate the VFA,” states BAYAN USA Secretary General Berna Ellorin. “It is in the US and Arroyo governments’ interest to remove the one unifying reason of late to oppose it– the rape of Nicole and demand to turn convicted rapist Smith to Philippine jurisdiction,” Ellorin added. “But this will not lessen our resolve to call for the VFA’s termination, which has not even been ratified by the US Senate and not enforceable in the US given the US Supreme Court decision in Medellin vs. Texas.”

Under the VFA, over 6000 US troops are scheduled for deployment to the Philippines next month to conduct war exercises with the Philippines military known as the Balikatan exercises. “The US government wants to preserve its unilateralism in the Philippines through the VFA and the Arroyo government wants to remain its number one lapdog in Asia. It’s the perfect scheme,” said Kuusela Hilo, Deputy Secretary General of BAYAN USA.

There Will Be More Nicoles

After a historic conviction in 2006, Smith was found guilty of raping  Nicole  before dumping her brutalized body out a van. As stipulated by the VFA, Smith was turned over to the US Embassy while protest demonstrations in the Philippines and the United States called for the US government to turn Smith over to a Philippine detention facility.

“We wish Nicole the best of luck in her desire to escape her past, but Nicole is just one out of tens of thousands of Filipina women and children who suffer from aggressive sexual crimes, human rights violations, and indignities at the hands of the US troops stationed in the Philippines. Some have been killed or have suffered severe injuries due to indiscriminate shooting and war exercises. But because the VFA grants immunity for US military personnel from Philippine laws, they are free to commit grave crimes and don’t have to worry about facing the Philippine justice system,” Hilo continued. “There will be more Nicoles for as long as the VFA is still intact.”

No Change Under Obama

Nicole’s dubious statement and settlement comes shortly after the much-publicized phone call placed by US President Barack Obama to Arroyo supporting the VFA. Under the Bush regime, the US government sent hundreds of millions in military aid to the Philippine government for US military operations in the Philippines.

“It is hypocritical for the Obama administration to support the VFA and Arroyo. This signifies no departure from the much-hated Bush policies of US intervention in the Philippines. Coming from someone who rode on the slogan ‘Change We Can Believe In’, Obama’s US foreign policy so far in the Philippines is no different from Bush in his push for costly US militarization of the region and monetary support for a regime that has proven itself to be tyrannical and to funnel US military aid towards human rights violations against its people,” Hilo ended.

Junk VFA Calls Will Only Grow Louder

Hilo is confident that the developments with Nicole and Obama won’t weaken the international campaign to terminate the VFA. BAYAN USA vows to take the signatures from the petition campaign to Capitol Hill this year. “In the end, this campaign is about respect and recognition for the national sovereignty of the Philippines and the Filipino people, which ALL the freedom and justice-loving peoples of the world agree with.”

To view and sign the petition, visit  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow.

BAYAN USA will hold its 3rd Congress March 27-29 at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center.

[ Sign petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow ]

END UNEQUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE U.S.!
TERMINATE THE VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT!
SURRENDER SMITH TO PHILIPPINE AUTHORITIES!

To: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator John Kerry (Chair, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee), Representative Howard Berman (Chair, U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs), Representative Barbara Lee (U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations):

Last February 11, the Philippine Supreme Court declared illegal the U.S. embassy detention of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, a member of the United States Marines. Smith was convicted by a Philippine court for raping a Filipina in 2006, yet despite his conviction he is serving his sentence inside an American facility instead of a Philippine jail. Such a situation has been viewed as gross disrespect for the sovereignty of the Philippines and the integrity of its courts. To justify the embassy detention, the U.S. government has invoked a provision in the so-called R.P.-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement allowing the U.S. custody of erring American soldiers.

Had a Filipino committed a similar crime in the U.S., he would not be serving his sentence in the Philippine embassy. Smith’s current detention therefore underscores a fundamental inequality in the provisions of the VFA.

Nobody Wins with the VFA

This observation of one-sidedness is reinforced by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says treaties entered into by the U.S. are not enforceable in the U.S. unless there is an implementing law or if the treaty is self-executing. The VFA, which was not even ratified as a treaty by the U.S. Senate, has neither an implementing law nor is self-executing. It is inequality, and an affront to sovereignty, when the VFA becomes enforceable in the Philippines but not in the U.S.

The Smith incident is just one of the many problems that have arisen from the VFA, a military pact that governs the entry and presence of American troops in Philippine territory. The VFA provides for, among others, the deployment and stationing of U.S. troops and the holding of joint military operations in the Philippines. Unknown to many, U.S. troops have been stationed in the Philippines since 2002 up to the present. The extent of U.S. deployment in the Philippines increased during George Bush’s discredited “war on terror.”

Combat and Rape Under the Guise of “Training”

The destructive and costly continuance of the joint military exercises between U.S. and Philippine troops under the VFA has resulted in the displacement of thousands of innocent Filipino men, women, and children. Preparations for Balikatan 2009, a joint activity that permits U.S. troops to train Filipino soldiers under Philippine territory, have put in peril the welfare of young children. During the “clearing operations” of the Philippine Military’s 901st Brigade in the Bicol region, a one-year-old child was senselessly killed, while six more children were injured.

The stated intent of the annual Balikatan exercises is to provide training to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Yet such training becomes questionable given the fact the Philippine military has been consistently implicated by UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston in thousands of human rights violations since 2001, including torture, abductions, and extrajudicial killings.

Furthermore, eyewitness accounts suggest that U.S. military activity is not limited to “exercises,” but has included actual combat operations that are banned by the Philippine Constitution. These interventions are compounded by U.S. military personnel committing crimes during their “rest and recreation” time, including the gang rape of the Filipina woman “Nicole,” for which Smith was convicted in 2006.

Funding Human Rights Violations Instead of Saving Jobs and Homes in the U.S.

The holding of U.S. military exercises is tied with providing military aid to the Philippines, with an annual $30 million allotted by the U.S. Congress and hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in other assistance. The accumulated U.S. military funding for the Philippines from 2001 to the present may have already reached $1 billion.

Such a practice, however, becomes unconscionable when U.S. funding is used by a regime that - to borrow words from President Barack Obama- “clings to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent.” A recent U.S. State Department report on the Philippines said that “arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings by elements of the security services… continued to be major problems.”

The VFA, despite the military exercises and aid, provides absolutely no short-term nor long-term benefits to the people of either the U.S. or the Philippines. Filipino citizens have staged an escalating number of protests to voice their opposition to the Agreement and its violation of Philippine sovereignty. Several Philippine senators have also filed a resolution calling for its abrogation.

The Obama administration has vowed a departure from the Bush foreign policies. Terminating the VFA and removing U.S. troops from the Philippines would be a step in that direction.

We demand:

• That in the interest of justice, the U.S. government surrender custody of convicted rapist Daniel Smith to Philippine authorities

• That the U.S. government terminate the R.P.-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement for being an unequal pact saddled with legal problems

• That the U.S. government recall the U.S. troops stationed in the Philippines and cease any further deployment under any pretext

• That the U.S. Congress terminate military aid to the Philippines and exclude the Philippines from any allocation of military aid in future years.

[ Sign petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow ]

Contact: Berna Ellorin
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations across the United States, condemns the arrogant and costly continuance of the so-called “joint military exercises” between US and Philippine troops known as Balikatan under the auspices of the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), despite widespread opposition from the Filipino people. In April 2009, over 6,000 US troops will be deployed to the Bicol region of the Philippines to join 2500 Philippine troops to launch the Balikatan 2, the continuation of military exercises and practices as a so-called “counter-terrorism” measure for the region.

It is utterly disappointing that while the world had reason to celebrate the voting out of George W. Bush in favor of “change we can all believe in”, the Obama administration has decided to NOT CHANGE Bush’s foreign policy in the Philippines. This includes upholding the rotten and unequal character of the VFA.

The terms of the 1999 RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement– consisting of two principal documents, VFA 1 and VFA 2, though on paper a joint military agreement between two countries– has been poorly implemented and abused by both governments. The result has been a large wielding of heavy favor and privilege to the US government while grossly minimizing, if not diminishing, the Philippines’ right to national sovereignty in military and judicial affairs. One such example is stipulations on the “right to jurisdiction” in cases of crimes committed by military personnel in both countries.

VFA 1 stipulates that the US government retain jurisdiction over US military personnel accused of committing crimes in the Philippines, unless said crimes are “of particular importance” to the Philippines. Throughout the history of the VFA, many have accused both government of using the agreement to grant immunity from prosecution to all US military personnel who commit crimes against Filipinos. Since the advent of US military presence in the Philippines in 1899, no single US military personnel has been tried and convicted for a crime committed on the Philippines UNTIL 2006, when a historical guilty verdict convicted Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, one of four US marines stationed in the Philippines, accused of gang raping a 22-year old Filipina woman in 2005.

While undergoing trial for nearly a year, the four remained under US custody, despite growing unrest in the country to hand them over to Philippine jurisdiction. Characteristically subservient and treasonous, the Arroyo government bowed down in loyalty its foreign master and pushed for the overtly-lopsided handling in favor of the US military during the Subic Rape Trial. While three out of the four were eventually acquitted, Smith was convicted. Shortly after conviction, Philippine authorities turned-over Smith to the US Embassy in Manila, where he supposedly remains, against the outrage of the majority of Filipinos who protested for him to serve his time in a Philippine jail.

In stark contrast, VFA 2 stipulates that “confinement imposed by a United States federal or state court upon a Republic of the Philippines personnel shall be served in penal institutions in the United States suitable for the custody level of the prisoners, chosen after consultation between the two governments.”

While historically abused and defended by Malacanang, we applaud the patriotic and human rights-conscious elements in the Philippine Legislature who are rising up to call for the termination of the VFA and pointing out Malacanang’s betrayal. House Resolution 458, calling for the abrogation of the VFA, was filed last year mainly by representatives in BAYAN MUNA and Gabriela Women’s Party. But now the lingering question over Smith’s detention in the US Embassy has resulted in a number of Philippine Senators, including Francis Pangilinan, Rodolfo Biazon, Pia Cayetano, and Francis Escudero to support the abrogation the VFA on the basis of it being utterly in opposition to the national interests and dignity of the Philippine people. Senate Resolution 892, filed by Pangilinan last week, deems the VFA violates the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which prohibits the permanent presence of foreign troops in Philippine territory.

While the pact stipulates US military basing in the Philippines to be “temporary”, the truth is US military presence in the Philippines has no genuine intention of leaving. In fact, under Bush-Arroyo framework of the Philippines as the “Second Front” to the Global War on Terror, Balikatan not only increased the number of US troops in the Philippines to the thousands and paved the way for the construction of US military bases in Mindanao, it paved the way for an increase in millions of US tax dollars as US military aid to the country, a package that has been linked to the proliferation of human rights violations committed by the Philippine military. The presence of the so-called “temporary” US military bases and economic aid has been largely hidden by both the US and Philippine governments, but the concrete effects have been adversely felt by all Filipinos in some way, shape, or form.

Just this week, the recent preparatory exercises of Philippine military’s 901st Brigade for the coming of the US troops in Ligao, Albay that resulted in the death of 16-month old Rafaella Polvorido and injuries to at least six other small children and three women who were left traumatized. This proves that the VFA not only sows military atrocities against civilian Filipinos, it kills the most innocent as well. Polvorido’s case is just the latest in a long history of senseless civilian deaths that have resulted in joint military agreements between the US and Philippine governments since 1946, right after the US government “granted” the country nominal independence.

At the same time, it is shameful that the Obama administration continues to pay for the costliness of the Balikatan exercises at a time of acute economic crisis. As more and more people in the US lose jobs, homes, education opportunities, and access to quality healthcare, it is unconscionable that the US government sends millions to the corrupt and tyrannical Arroyo government who funnels the aid to Philippine death squads.

Clearly, the VFA has historically sown not only human rights violations, senseless killings, sexual terrorism against Filipino women and children, aggressive armed conflict, and the trampling of Philippine national sovereignty, it has advanced the Arroyo government’s traditional employment of deceit, betrayal, and secrecy at the expense of the Filipino people’s national interests. It also an unnecessary economic burden the people of the US.

The VFA can not be reformed or suspended as a resolution.  Only total and complete termination of the VFA and assurance that no such agreement will ever be entered into again can truly satisfy the yearning of the Filipino people for genuine national sovereignty and human rights.

JUNK THE VFA!
US TROOPS OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES!
NO TO US MILITARY AID TO THE PHILIPPINES!
JUSTICE FOR RAFAELLA POLVORIDO & ALL VICTIMS OF US-RP MILITARY ATROCITIES!
TRANSFER RAPIST DANIEL SMITH TO A PHILIPPINE PRISON NOW!

Contact: Berna Ellorin
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

On this 110th anniversary of the Philippine-American War, the first US war of aggression for conquest overseas, Filipinos under the banner of BAYAN USA remain vigilant and defiant over US government maneuvers, in conjunction with the US puppet administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to dominate and control Philippine economic and political affairs. In fact, moves for US government intervention in the Philippines are intensifying more than ever under the Arroyo administration. Two of the most recent forms of intervention are related to the US-Arroyo clique’s drive for Charter Change, or Cha-Cha– this week’s passing of House Resolution 737 by Philippine House Speaker Prospero Nograles and the Obama administration’s renewed commitment to the Balikatan exercises, this time in Bicol, for 2009.

Cha-Cha = Economic Liberalization

The recent passage of HR 737 as railroaded by Arroyo mouthpiece Prospero Nograles this week significantly indicates the first inclusion of the Arroyo clique’s ardent campaign to alter the 1987 Philippine Constitution. This not only indicates that the Cha-Cha campaign is alive and kicking, but is poised for the offensive.

Nograles, who was put in position after the Arroyo-maneuvered ouster of former House Speaker Jose De Venecia, filed House Resolution 737 this week. HR 737 specifically calls for the amendment of Sections 2 and 3 of Article 12 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution “to allow the acquisition by foreign corporations and associations and the transfer or conveyance thereto, of alienable public and private lands.” The resolution was approved by the House by a vote of 11-4. It’s next stop will be the Philippine Senate.

In these times of devastating economic crisis, further economic liberalization of the Philippine economy is the last thing the Filipino people need. The economic provisions proposed in Nograles’ resolution will ensure more landlessness for Filipino farmers, deepening poverty, and expand joblessness in the Philippines. Despite claims from the Arroyo clique that economic liberalization will bring in foreign investments and employment opportunities, the reality indicates quite the contrary. Studies have already shown that existent policies of economic liberalization, under the auspices of neoliberal globalization, are at the root cause of global economic crisis that is burdening the already-suffering Filipino people. More liberalization will only compound the Filipino people’s burdens even more.

Cha-Cha = More US Military Intervention

It is a given that US economic interests overseas are always protected by intensified US military presence and aggression. The Obama administration’s continued commitment to the invasive Balikatan exercises, this time in Bicol, is disappointing, because it will expand US military presence in the country. It is equally disappointing that the status quo of a regular US military aid package to the Philippines remains in tact, despite unanimous documentary evidence from international monitoring bodies that these US tax dollars are being funneled towards the Philippine military’s perpetration of extra-judicial killings and abductions of Filipino civilians, under the tutelage of US military advisers deployed to the Philippines. Since the Phil-Am War of 1899, US military presence has never left the Philippines. US military presence will surely expand and increase if Arroyo’s Cha-Cha passes in the Philippine Congress.

Section 25 Article XVIII in the Philippine Constitution clearly prohibits the presence of foreign military troops and facilities on Philippine soil, yet the US government has managed to keep a military stronghold in the Philippines and mock Philippine national sovereignty, even after the closing of Subic Naval and Clark Air Force Base in 1991. It has done so through a series of US-Philippine military agreements such as the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). These agreements have managed to ensure the continuing human rights violations committed by US troops ranging from sexual terrorism against Filipino women and children to direct combat of Philippine soil. Engagement in direct combat by foreign troops on Philippine soil is officially outlawed by the Philippine Constitution, and is one of the provisions the Arroyo administration is intent on changing as part of the Cha-Cha.

A Call for Patriotism

BAYAN USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations across the United States, representing patriotic Filipinos forced to leave due to unsurvivable poverty in the Philippines, believes the struggle of the Philippine-American War of 1899 is not over, as current US government maneuvers in the Philippines are still in contrast to the collective interests of the Filipino people for genuine national sovereignty. It vehemently condemns the malicious and anti-patriotic character of the Arroyo administration for betraying the national interests of the Filipino people. Not only will Cha-Cha strip Filipinos of the right to determine the fate of their country and its natural resources, it will pave the way for the official resurrection of Martial Rule and return of fascist dictatorship to the Philippines. Cha-Cha continues the mission of the US government during the Phil-Am War in securing US government control over the Philippines. It is for this reason that our resistance as Filipinos must also step up.

On this day of memory of the Phil-Am War, let us pledge to heighten our patriotism and love of country by denouncing Cha-Cha and calling on the Philippine Senate to reject HR 737 and stop the Cha-Cha train dead on its tracks. Let us continue our demand to have all US troops withdrawn from the Philippines as well as all forms of US economic aid to the Philippines. Let us also continue to call for the impeachment, resignation, and/or ouster of the number one traitor of the Filipino people– Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

JUNK HR 737! NO TO CHA-CHA!
NO TO FOREIGN PLUNDER OF PHILIPPINE NATURAL RESOURCES!
US TROOPS OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES!
NO US TAX DOLLARS TO PHILIPPINE DEATH SQUADS!
GLORIA RESIGN!

Contact: Joanne Alcantara
Coordinator, GABRIELA National Organizing Committee
(641) 715-3900
gabrielawomen@gmail.com

On March 8, 2008, Filipino women in the United States will proclaim the formalization of a GABRIELA-USA Chapter, the first international overseas chapter of the Philippine-based women’s organization GABRIELA, through nationally-coordinated protest actions celebrating
women’s resistance and calling for the ouster of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

GABRIELA, the General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and Action, was first established in 1984 by 42 women’s organizations in the Philippines uniting against the US-backed Marcos dictatorship. In November of 2007, Pinay sa Seattle, babae in
San Francisco and FiRE (Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment) in New York planted the seeds for a USA-based GABRIELA. Subsequently, GABRIELA has committed to expanding our work in the US by providing organizing around the conditions of Filipinas in the USA.

In the seven years that the US-backed Arroyo has been President in the Philippines, she has worsened the economic conditions of the Filipino people and especially women. Her stark human rights violations record, subservience to US imperialism and militarization has
materialized in the murder of Filipino women and children in the hand of US troops supposedly training the Philippine military in Balikatan exercises. Arroyo has also stood silent on the increasing numbers of Filipino women raped by US military troops in the Philippines, and
recently in Japan.

The corruption of President Arroyo has been exposed through the NBN-ZTE scandal and the Filipino people are expressing their intolerance. We are uniting across continents and oceans to call for a new brand of people power. The intensifying political climate in the Philippines calls for genuine social change, an ouster of a decrepit president and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines.

GABRIELA-USA will rally to this call. As migrant women, we recognizethat the majority of Overseas Filipino Workers are women. The worsening economic and political crisis of the Philippines pushes Filipino women out only to be subjected to exploitation, human
trafficking, domestic abuse, sexual assault, torture and even death. We recognize our place is in the struggle to oust a puppet president and we will mobilize around our responsibility to the Filipino people.

During these times of heightened political crisis in the Philippines the women of Pinay sa Seattle, babae San Francisco and FiRE New York, all members of GABRIELA-USA, will continue to carry out the vigilant task of intensifying the people’s resistance against a tyrannical and immoral government. GABRIELA-USA stands behind all working women and Filipino progressives to expose the truth and call for Arroyo’s ouster from presidency.

On this March 8, we call on all peace loving people, advocates for human rights, and women’s organizations to stand in solidarity with GABRIELA and its newly formed USA-based chapter by joining us in the following mobilizations:

New York:
12pm-3pm
A Salute to Women’s Resistance
Union Square

Seattle:
12pm-2pm
Women Hold Up Half the Sky
Cultural Performances and Speakers
Jose Rizal Park

San Francisco:
2:00pm
For Our Sisters, We Must RESIST
San Francisco Dewey Monument
Union Square Plaza at Stockton and Powell

Women unite!
Struggle against oppression and exploitation!
Fight the Arroyo regime’s corruption and tyranny!
Oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!
Long Live International Working Women’s Day!
Long Live International Solidarity!