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Sunday, June 04, 2006
Feud brews over new RP pact with US
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) insisted that the new security agreement reached between the Philippines and the US is an executive agreement thus it does not require Senate's ratification to become effective.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said that since the agreement is merely an expansion of the existing treaty on security with the US, it is no longer necessary for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to submit it to the Senate for ratification.
Gonzalez said the new accord is founded on the existing security agreement, the Mutual Defense Treaty, which had needed the concurrence of senators.
"Some senators say it's a treaty. I believe it's an executive agreement. I think it won't prejudice the country's interests," he said.
Besides, Gonzalez added, it is up to the government if it would allow any body to interfere in its state affairs. For one thing, he said "meddling" should be defined.
He said foreigners who will try to control government affair are "treading on thin ground", taking a dig at the five American and European women lawyers who are members of Amnesty International (AI).
Gonzalez said he had wanted to deport the foreign lawyers for criticizing the government but thought better of it as "they might like it all the more because of the publicity."
Earlier, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairperson of the Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement (Lovfa), said the new security arrangement with the US requires ratification by the Senate.
Santiago, who also heads the Senate committee on foreign relations, was given an executive briefing by Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo on the new security pact.
Under the new arrangement, the US troops would be allowed to take an active role in Manila's efforts against cross-border threats such as terrorism, piracy and transnational crimes.
The security arrangement involves the setting-up of a new joint consultative panel called the Security Engagement Board (SEB) to discuss possible joint exercises and cooperation to deal with threats not covered by the Philippines' defense treaty with the US. It will also develop measures to enhance cooperation between the two allies.
However, senators raised concern that the pact might violate the constitutional prohibition against foreign troops engaging in actual combat.
Santiago warned that the new security arrangement between the Philippines and the US could result in the US meddling in government decisions as she insisted that Senate ratification of the agreement "is a must".
She warned that the US could meddle in the affairs of the country under the so-called "principle of responsibility to protect" and the "principle of right of human intervention."
The senator noted that the arrangement would operate within the framework of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) governing the conduct of joint military exercises in the country.
"The exchange of notes indirectly extends the application of the VFA to US military forces who might participate in exercises in Philippine territory that address non-traditional security issues," Santiago said, referring to threats not covered by a 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty.
The "non-traditional concerns" could be interpreted to include health, financing, disasters, money-laundering, small arms smuggling, piracy and human trafficking, the lawmaker said.
In 1951, the Philippines and the US signed the Mutual Defense Treaty to help defend each other in case of external invasion. They also forged a VFA in 1999 that allows US forces to join large-scale military exercises in the Philippines. (ECV/Sunnex)
(June 4, 2006 issue)
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