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Thursday, September 23, 2004
100 barangay leaders ink manifesto vs Balikatan
By Aurea A. Gerundio
AROUND 100 leaders from different barangays in Davao City on Wednesday signed a manifesto protesting the plan to conduct the Joint Balikatan military exercise in this city.
The barangay leaders, during a consultation at the City Council session hall Wednesday, were one in saying that military exercises in the city will not benefit the Dabawenyos.
Their sentiment was echoed by retired Philippine Navy Capt. Danilo Vizmanos who also attended the consultation.
"Wala naman talagang pakinabang ang Balikatan sa atin. America just wants to exploit the raw material sources knowing that Mindanao is rich with minerals. They wanted Mindanao as a staging area, a springboard of military power," said Vizmanos, who is a convenor of the US Troops Out Now! and the Junk VFA (Visiting
Forces Agreement) Movement.
Deputy Mayor (at large) Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz likewise raised the possibility that holding joint military exercises in the city will just invite adversarial groups.
"If this 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," Ortiz said.
Vizmanos also brushed off arguments that Philippine troops stand to benefit from the trainings in their fight against revolutionary forces and the Abu Sayyaf group because they get to handle sophisticated weapons otherwise unavailable for the locals.
"Training in the use of sophisticated weaponry is peripheral to the Abu Sayyaf problem," Vizmanos said.
The real problem with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Vizmanos said, emanates 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 as second-class citizens and failure to sincerely address their problems and grievances."
Talomo barangay captain Vicente Danao while firm in his stance against the exercises said that all the protests will be for naught if President Arroyo will decide to hold such here.
To this, City Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad said the President may not be so gung-ho about holding such exercises here if Dabawenyos make it clear that they don't want such.
In an exclusive interview earlier this month with City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, he said that while he does not want the city to host any of these exercises, he could not do anything if the President wills it so.
Duterte was interviewed right after two US Embassy officials sought audience with him asking him about the possibility of Davao becoming a venue for this.
Among others, Duterte said, he does not see anything about the exercises that will benefit the Dabawenyos.
At the same time, he said, the exercises can even be a magnet for trouble.
This month, the members of the RP-US Mutual Defense Board are said to meet in Hawaii to determine the venue for next year's military exercises.
The training, which will last for three to four weeks, is said to involve around 4,000 American and Filipino soldiers.
(September 23, 2004 issue)
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