|
Thursday, September 23, 2004
100 barangay leaders ink manifesto vs Balikatan
By Aurea A. Gerundio
DAVAO CITY -- Around a hundred barangay leaders in Davao City signed Wednesday a manifesto protesting the plan to conduct joint Philippine-US military exercises here 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.
Retired Philippine Navy Capt. Danilo Vizmanos, who also attended the consultation, echoed their sentiment.
"Wala naman talagang pakinabang ang Balikatan sa atin. America just wants to exploit raw material sources, knowing that Mindanao is rich in minerals. They wanted Mindanao as a staging area, a springboard of military power," said Vizmanos, a convenor of the US Troops Out Now! and the Junk VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) Movement.
A city official, Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, raised the possibility that the holding of joint military exercises in the city would invite adversarial groups to come in and sow trouble.
"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 stressed.
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 Mindanao problem, 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 head Vicente Danao, while firm in his stance against the exercises, said all the protests will be for naught if President Arroyo decided to hold such here.
In response, Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad said President Arroyo might not be so gung-ho about holding such exercises here if Dabawenyos make it clear that they don't want the activity held here.
Interviewed earlier this month, Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte said that while he doesn't want the city to host any of these exercises, he could not do anything if the President would will 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 the military exercises.
Among others, Duterte said, he doesn't 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, members of the RP-US Mutual Defense Board will reportedly 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)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
RTC judge sacked on P250T bribe rap