News Release
July 22, 2010
The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) today challenged President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino to speak out on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the presence of US troops in Mindanao, as well as the issue of human rights, in his upcoming first State of the Nation Address (SoNA).
US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, who recently visited the country, had said US troops deployed in Mindanao will remain there to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the fight against “Muslim extremists.”
“Our presence will remain here to do whatever we can on (behalf) of the Filipino government,” Burns said after meeting with Aquino earlier this week. “Our soldiers and Filipino troops are closely working for peace and development.”
Burns’s statement comes almost a year after US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the US troops deployed in Mindanao will remain there indefinitely.
Burns is the third highest-ranking official of the US Department of State, and the first high-ranking US official to visit Aquino after he was proclaimed on June 30.
Bayan reminded Aquino that as senator last year, he voted in favor of a Senate resolution calling for the review or abrogation of the VFA.
“Will President Aquino’s position on the VFA change now that a US official has taken the liberty of speaking, on his behalf, on an issue concerning national sovereignty?” said Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr.
Signed in January 1998, the VFA was passed in May 1999 by the Philippine Senate. The VFA paved the way for the Balikatan military exercises, which are held every year in various regions. Many controversies have arisen from these exercises, including allegations that US forces engage in actual combat.
Starting 2002, the US deployed troops under the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) to “assist” in counter-“insurgency” and counter-“terrorism” operations, of which infrastructure and “humanitarian” projects are part.
“Two Filipinos recently died in Mindanao, and there are indications the presence of US troops there may have something to do with their deaths,” Reyes noted. “We urge President Aquino to make known his views on this matter in his SoNA.”
The Bayan leader added human rights should also form an integral part of Aquino’s speech.
“Human rights were wantonly violated during the term Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” Reyes said. “The US-directed counter-‘insurgency’ program Oplan Bantay Laya or OBL victimized activists of legal and progressive organizations, as well as ordinary citizens. This resulted in more than a thousand extrajudicial killings and more than 200 enforced disappearances. Meanwhile, more than 300 people languish in detention on account of their political beliefs.
“President Aquino, in his SoNA, should send a clear signal that the perpetrators of human rights violations – including the masterminds – will not go unpunished. It would be a good occasion to address the issue of justice for the victims of Arroyo.”
Reyes said sovereignty and human rights will also be among the main issues that Bayan will carry during its annual SoNA rally.
