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Monday, June 12, 2006
Congress can look into hiring of Pinoy 'mercenaries' to Iraq: Palace
MALACAÑANG on Sunday said Congress can go ahead if it wants to investigate the alleged recruitment of "mercenaries" to Iraq by security firm Blackwater USA.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said "it's within the prerogative of Congress" if it wants to investigate the recruitment but he said he does not know how lawmakers will do it because Congress adjourned last June 8.
Muntinlupa City Representative Rufino Biazon has said that he is mulling the filing of a resolution seeking an inquiry into the hiring and training of Filipinos for deployment as mercenaries in Iraq.
Ermita insisted that he does not know anything about the Blackwater deal, whose local counterpart Sotelyst Solutions has a pending application for the lease of the one-hectare firing range at the Subic Freeport.
Reports said Blackwater recruits have been conducting practice firing at the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) on weekends.
Ermita said the reports are still "speculative" because it's not yet approved by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounced the US for hiring Filipino mercenaries to fight its wars in Iraq and other countries.
New People's Army (NPA) spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said hiring Filipino civilians to provide support services for the US' war in Iraq and other countries is bad enough and should be discouraged, but "hiring Filipino soldiers of fortune to fight in US wars of aggression and terror against other countries is even worse and deserves nothing but condemnation."
Rosal said the establishment of Blackwater's recruitment center in the Philippines stemmed from the mounting casualties of US military personnel that have triggered severe criticism, massive protests and plunging ratings for US President George W. Bush.
He said the US has also turned to Third World countries to be able to cut costs as hired Filipino mercenaries are paid only US$60,000-US$80,000 a year, half of what it pays American mercenaries with equivalent qualifications and assignments.
He also denounced Malacañang for "secretly endorsing" Blackwater's entry at the Subic Freeport. "(National Security Adviser) Norberto Gonzales has again been caught lying through his teeth for denying any knowledge of Blackwater's presence," he added.
Rosal said he finds it incredible for Gonzales not to have known that Malacañang had even facilitated Blackwater's entry by sending one of its staff, Bong Cuevas, to secure SBMA manager Fil Salonga's approval of the project.
He warned that hiring Filipino mercenaries to fight alongside the US Army in Iraq and elsewhere could serve as a magnet for attacks against the Philippines and Filipinos abroad. He added that Filipino mercenaries could be used by the US as "proxy armies" in fighting Philippine revolutionary forces and supporters.
Rosal's view is echoed by the Union of Filipino Foreign Service Officers (Uniffors), a group of career diplomats, said in its weblog (uniffors.com),
Uniffors said Blackwater's facilities or its "graduates" may be used by the Arroyo government in employing "non-traditional soldiers a.k.a. mercenaries in the local war against terrorism."
It said that Gonzales is "downplaying" its presence in the Philippines and that "he's the biggest liar in Arroyo's Cabinet." It said the recruitment can be tied up with the new security arrangement between the US and the Philippines which covers "non-traditional" concerns. (JMR/Sunnex)
(June 12, 2006 issue)
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