WHY THE VFA SHOULD BE SCRAPPED?
Capt. Danilo Vizmanos, PN (Ret.),
Convenor, Junk VFA Movement

President Joseph Estrada's wholehearted acceptance of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in the year of the Centennial shows how little he has learned from the lessons of 1898.

He is repeating the tragic blunder of General Emilio Aguinaldo who , on June12, 1898, proclaimed Phil. Independence "under the protection of the Mighty and Humane North American Nation". Two months later the grand deception and doublecross unfolded as US expeditionary forces occupied the walled city of Intramuros after a sham battle with the Spanish garrison.

Aguinaldo's revolutionary army was not even granted the courtesy of sending a token force to witness the surrender of Spanish troops to the new colonizers.

Barely six months later "friendly forces" of the "Humane North American Nation" opened fire on the trusting native soldiers bivouacked at San Juan that marked the beginning of the Philippine -American War. It was a war peplete with atrocities committed by the new colonizers that antedated the US war crimes in Vietnam by six decades.

US Obsession with VFA

The Question arises: Why is the US so obsessed and impatient in ramming the VFA down the throat of the Filipino people?

The 1995 East Asian Strategy Report of the US Department of Defense provides the answer:

" [This year's report] reaffirms our commitment to maintain a stable forward presence in the region, at the existing level of about 100,000 troops, for the foreseeable future…for maintaining forward deployment of US forces and access and basing rights and allied forces.

" If the American presence in ASia were removed…our ability to affect the course of events would be constrained, our markets and our interests would be jeopardized."

The rationale of US military access in the country through a so-called "visiting forces agreement" is clearly spelled out: It is to serve, promote and safeguard US interests primarily. The Pentagon and Camp Aguinaldo provide the sugar-coating by citing "advantages" accruing to the AFP in terms of training and material benefits.

Estrada's Turnabout

How does one explain the turnabout of Estrada and Mercado (who were with the "Magnificent 12" in the 1991 Senate) as today's leading proponents of the VFA?

Our history as an "independent" nation shows that the top priority of a new administration is to ingratiate itself with the overlords in Washington. It views the Washington bureaucracy as a cornucopia of economic and military "goodies" and special favors. This posture of servility and mendicancy has become even more pronounced today given the bankruptcy of the government, worsening economic conditions and high expectations of deliverance among the people.

But if we are now in a serious economic crisis despite decades of "advantageous" economic and military agreements with the US, then what makes the Estrada administration believe that a visiting forces agreement will turn the trick in our favor?

A Self-Inflicted Sense of Helplessness

Perhaps the most pathetic argument in favor of the VFA comes from Secretary Mercado and AFP Chief of Staff Nazareno. They say that we need the VFA because the armed forces lack the capability to defend the country against externeal aggression. If we pursue this logic to the limit of its absurdity, then the armed forces should by now be an Asian military power because for the last fifty years we have had the "advantages" of an RP-US joint military exercises, and countless solicited and unsolicited advice from the military "experts" in the Pentagon, US Pacific Command, and JUSMAG!

It is worth reminding the highest leaders of the defense establishment that the AFP's lack of defense capability is precisely because of:

a. paying lip-service to a self-reliant posture by successive administrations, and

b. a history of undue dependence on foreign "crutches" purportedly for the enhancement of our national security, i.e., RP-US military bases, military assistance, mutual defense and now "visiting forces" agreements.

Other Southeast Asian nations have substantially improved their defense posture precisely because they have avoided the constricting and debilitating effect of one-sided, unequal and onerous agreements imposed by a foreign power.

It is indeed pathetic that the two most responsible officials in Camp Aguinaldo have yet to realize that dependence opn foreign crutches induce paralysis of the will and a self-inflicted sense of helplessness.

Mercado also remarked that the VFA, unlike the MBA, will redound to the benefit of the Filipino people. If there is any dissimilairty between the two agreements, this must refer to the fact that while US military presence and activities were confined only to a few selected areas under the MBA, they can now apply to any area throughout the archipelago without restrictions and limitations.

The defense secretary also says that we have nothing to worry about because under the VFA American servicemen will just be coming and going as "visitors".

Let it be known that we will not be dealing here with ordinary transient visitors or tourists exuding peaceful and hospitable intentions. Under the VFA we will be confronted with a continuing process of military access by foreign personnel dedicated to the business of waging war against perceived enemies without benefit of a declaration of war in almost all cases.

Furthermore, through the subterfuge of "neither confirm nor deny" any part of the country can be made accessible to the introduction of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, biological) which are standard armament of US naval, air and ground forces.

Whether we like it or not, under the VFA we will find ourselves involved in unforseen military provocations and hostilities as host country to a foreign war machine.

A CALL TO SCRAP THE VFA

Our sad experiences with foreign military presence during the lifetime of the RP-US MBA provide us with valuable lessons. Whatever incidental material benefits were derived can never compensate for the high price exacted on the Filipino people. This includesthe mockery of our justice system, debasement of moral standards, cultural degradation, environmental damage, extraterritorial impositions and national indignities.

BAYAN call on all concerned Filipinos to unite and voice their opposition to the VFA. It is an agreement that was drawn up in secrecy by vested interest groups without the people's participation.

The VFA should be scrapped in its entirety as a one-sided, unequal, unjust and onerous document that benefits an entrenched politico-military minority but runs counter to the interest of a greater part of humanity!

Campaigns

GOVERNMENT WORKERS JOIN LABOR DAY CELEBRATION

In solidarity with the working class, Public sector unions led by COURAGE joined the march rally from Welcome Rotonda to Liwasang Bonifacio last May 1, Labor Day celebration.

The 40, 000 strong mobilizations of militant organizations under the Koalisyon ng Progresibo at Makabayang Manggagawa (KPMM) and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) underscored the historical significance of Labor Day for the workers through this year’ theme: Patindihin at palawakin ang paglaban ng mga manggagawa at mamamayan sa pambubusabos ng imperyalista at rehimeng US-Ramos. Isulong ang Kilusang Welga!

Speakers from different sectors assailed the Ramos government for its policies of Liberalization, Deregulation and Privatization that further aggravates the crisis inflicted on the Filipinos.

Ferdie Gaite, COURAGE President and KPMM Spokesperson berated the massive displacement of workers brought about by the government's policy of Privatization and Labor Flexibilization through contractualization, spin-offs and labor-only contracting. He also reiterated the need for the workers to further unite against the increasing assault on their jobs and wages and link their struggle with the people in general.

Capping the day’s celebration was a fireworks display unfolding a streamer with the call: WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!

In stark contrast, other groups posturing as progressive attempted to blur the militant tradition of May 1. They instead used this as venue to campaign for known labor misleaders.

MILITANT ORGANIZATIONS PICKET CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Amidst the specter created by the media blitz and the billions of pesos spent by the Ramos Administration for the centennial celebration, militant organizations marched to the streets to dramatize their protest against the continuing subservience of the government to foreign dictates despite the so-called proclamation of the Philippine independence.

Simultaneous with the extravagance of the June 12 Celebration, organizations led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) held a rally at T.M. Kalaw Street. As expected, a company of marines and police forces apprehended protesters not to proceed to U.S. Embassy.

Ironically, while the government celebrates the centennial of our independence, it continues to heed foreign dictates in the political and economic affairs of the country at the expense of the Filipino masses who wallow in extreme poverty.

The militant organizations stressed that the celebration also obscured the role played by the true heroes and martyrs of the revolution. They were overshadowed by the elite leaders who stole the leadership of the revolution from the masses only to capitulate to a new foreign master.

They added that it is therefore important for us to learn lessons from our history - that only the workers can genuinely lead the masses and together effect fundamental change in our society.

PROTEST ACTION AGAINST LAY-OFF KICKS OFF

A thousand employees belonging to various government agencies took time off from their work and militantly responded to a COURAGE led rally against reorganization and mass lay-off last July 22 in front of the Department of Agriculture Building in Quezon City.

Ronel Abila, COURAGE secretary general and NAFEDA president warned the Estrada Administration against pursuing its earlier pronouncements of creating a lean and mean bureaucracy by trimming the number of employees by 5% every 6 months of his term and reorganization through mergers, abolition and privatization.

"We will not be a party in the massacre of public sector employees by the Estrada government. Our collective strength gained from our past experiences of reorganizations shall guide us in furthering our actions to defend our jobs", Abila explains.

Those who took part in the rally were employees of DA, DAR, DENR, NFA, NHA, NPO, DSWD, BOC, PFDA, Philpost and members of the National Federation of Employees' Associations in the Department of Agriculture (NAFEDA).