U.S. Troops Unwanted in Davao
‘We will make it politically costly for them!’

U.S. troops recently received a "royal beating" from Davaoeños who took to the streets, passed legislative measures and signed manifestos in strong opposition to their presence in the city to conduct joint military exercises.

BY CHERYLL D. FIEL
Bulatlat

Tagum village captains sign anti-Balikatan manifesto

DAVAO CITY – Five members of the United States (U.S.) Army sneaked into the city under the Visiting Forces Agreement's (VFA) "narco-terrorism" tack and from Aug. 30 to Sept. 25, conducted anti-narcotics training in the city dubbed "Baker Piston." Fifty-six members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army (PA) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority (PDEA) from various parts of Mindanao attended the training.

But vigilant local officials were able to sniff their presence. The plan of making the city a venue for the next year's Balikatan exercises was also exposed.

On Sept. 1, the VFA Commission sent a letter to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte but failed to mention the training. A week later, the commission announced in a press conference that Davao City is one of the possible venues of next year's Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) war exercises.

To prepare for the coming war games, members of the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Board are set to meet in Hawaii next week. The meeting is expected to finalize the venue for exercises. The training which will last for three to four weeks, will involve around 4,000 American and Filipino soldiers, it was reported.

Legislative actions

The impending Philippine-U.S. war exercises prompted second district city councilor Jimmy Dureza to file a resolution directing the city council’s Committee on Peace and Public Safety to conduct an "immediate inquiry into the entry, presence and extent of operations of the U.S. troops in Davao City."

The resolution noted that there seemed to be "a lack of transparency and honest consultation" in the process of implementing the plans of the VFA Commission. It questioned the "short notice and limited factual information" provided by the VFA Commission.

"The Presidential Commission on the VFA, in its letter to Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte dated Sept. 1, has not mentioned the said training as a courtesy to inform the city government of the presence of U.S. military personnel in Davao," the resolution dated Sept. 14 cited.

Twenty-two of the city’s 25 councilors also signed a resolution supporting the mayor’s opposition to the holding of the Philippine-U.S. Joint Balikatan Military Exercises in the city.

Duterte has been quoted as saying that the Balikatan exercises have "absolutely no direct benefit to the people of Davao City."

Politically costly

Davao militants took advantage of the presence of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the Mindanao Business Conference last Sept. 16 and staged anti-Balikatan protests.

The protesters defied the one-kilometer off-limits radius earlier imposed by the police and converged only 50 meters from the conference venue.

The protesters who included farmers, women, workers, teachers, students, including the Moro contingent, took turns lambasting the administration of its "puppetry to the U.S." while waving anti-Balikatan banners atop a jeepney where they mounted Arroyo's effigy.

The date was significant because it marked the day when 13 years ago, about 10,000 Davaoeños joined the nationally-coordinated Lakbayan (long march) to push the dismantling of the U.S. military bases in the country.

"We will make it politically costly for them," says Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Jeppie Ramada, if the Arroyo administration will insist in pushing its plans to hold Balikatan exercises in Davao.

Ramada said they do not want the U.S. troops to commit another string of human rights abuses against the people of Davao and other parts of Mindanao as what happened in the previous war exercises in Zamboanga and North Cotabato.

The Bayan spokesperson cited the death of Sardiya Abu Calderon and the traumatic experiences of Rufaida Sulaiman and Nurhani Laki whose cases were attributed to the training exercise conducted in Brgy. Manarapan, Carmen North Cotabato last August.

Bayan also bannered the call against Balikatan entry in Mindanao during the Sept. 21 commemoration of Martial Law saying the administration, whose policies are based on U.S. dictates, would intensify the militarization of Mindanao.

Barangay level defense

Consequently, almost a hundred barangay captains of Davao City joined forces as they trooped to the City Council Session Hall on Sept. 22 to register their opposition to the planned Balikatan in Davao. "I won't allow the U.S. to enter, not even in my barangay," a barangay captain was quoted as saying.

Ninety four barangay (village) leaders of Davao City signed a manifesto stating that the presence of American soldiers would only serve "to provoke unrest and tension among our local residents."

In the forum, a barangay captain said that Davao City has never relied on the U.S. government for its economic activities so that “it is unnecessary to have the American troops here now.” 

Deputy mayor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, who figures in the Davao business sector, also has this to say: "If the military exercises will be held in this city and provoke protests and terrorist attacks, we are going against our very own program of making Davao City a safe haven for business and investments."

Message to Malacañang

Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad said they are hoping that the manifesto will send a strong signal to Malacañang and other people involved in the decision making for the Philippine-U.S. joint Balikatan exercises and make them abort their plan.

Retired Philippine Navy (PN) Capt. Danilo Vizmanos, who was invited to speak in the forum, says the Arroyo government is wrong if it thinks that the U.S. military exercises can benefit the continued fight against the revolutionary forces and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

To Vizmanos, "training in the use of sophisticated weaponry is peripheral to the Abu Sayyaf problem" when the problems facing the AFP combat units on the island arise from "faulty and questionable leadership, its effect on troop morale and lack of people's support due to government's condescending treatment of the Moro people and second class citizens and failure to sincerely address their problems and grievances."

He said the training benefits only America as it "just wants to exploit the raw material sources knowing that Mindanao is rich with minerals." "They want Mindanao as a staging area, a springboard of military power," he said. Bulatlat

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