How Pinatubo gave the Philippines its real Independence

If Pinatubo had not erupted in 1991, or had it erupted one year later, Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base—the two largest United States military installations outside the US mainland—would still be occupying Philippine territory, our economy would still be dependent on US aid, our military would still rely on US help, and so our so-called independence would still be a sham.

1991 was the exact same year the PH-US military bases agreement was also set to expire, which was why US negotiator Richard Armitage was in Manila at the time bargaining with PH negotiator Raul Manglapus to extend it. Armitage offered $360 million annual aid for a minimum of 10-year extension, Manglapus wanted $825 million annual aid for a maximum 7-year extension. ?

The military bases agreement was forged in 1947, two years after World War II and one year after the US finally granted the independence that Filipinos had been yearning for—actually a convenient way for the US to get itself out of the huge responsibility of rebuilding its devastated colony.

Yet the Americans didn’t completely turn over the Philippines to the Filipinos—they kept the Stars and Stripes flying over several vast areas like Clark and Subic which had been under their flag since 1899 and 1903 respectively. When the Philippines stopped being a US colony in 1946, the Americans kept their military presence supposedly to ensure mutual protection at the time of the Cold War (which started in 1947), and later, the Korean War (which started in 1950) and the Vietnam war (which started in 1955).

Under the original agreement, the US would keep these military bases for 99 years (from 1947 to 2046). In 1966, however, President Marcos advanced the agreement’s expiry date from 2046 to 1991. In 1979, he convinced the US government to allow the Philippine flag to fly alongside the US flag over these facilities and put Clark under the control of the Philippine military (Clark Air Base Command or CABCOM) headed by a Filipino base commander, whose American counterpart had jurisdiction only over the US Thirteenth Air Force. The arrangement was, if anything else, symbolic, intended to appease radical nationalists.

When the 1991 negotiations for the agreement’s extension rolled on, tensions were high between the US and the Philippines. The NPA had assassinated US servicemen outside Clark which forced a lockdown on all US personnel, which hurt local businesses (like housing, food and entertainment). Union workers on base demanded salary increase and went on strike. The violence at the gates forced more lockdowns. And President Cory Aquino snubbed US Defense Secretary Dick Cheney when he visited Manila. Washington described the snub as a shocking “boorish behavior” and suspected it was just a gambit to extract (some said extort) more aid for the bases. President Bush (the older one) bluntly told Cory, “Listen, every time I talk to Dick Cheney I come away smarter. So maybe you’d be like me, maybe you could learn from the man, or he could learn from you.” Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gates warned her to “get your house in order.” And the US Congress voted to cut $96 million off the proposed $481 million assistance package to the Philippines that year.

A few weeks before the eruption, when PHIVOLCS and the USGS issued confused and confusing announcements on when Mt. Pinatubo would erupt, or if it would erupt at all, negotiators from both sides of the bargaining table wondered if the impending eruption was being factored in the negotiations or if the bulletins from the two nations’ science teams were being used to soften or harden the other party’s position. In Angeles City, rallies were held by militants who wanted the Americans out and by local businessmen who wanted to keep them.

Two days before the first big eruption, 15,000 American Air Force personnel evacuated from Clark to squeeze into Subic which was already jampacked with 14,000 American Navy personnel. The 10,000 Filipino workers at Clark felt abandoned, five days away from payday (June 15).

On June 12–Independence Day of all days—Mt. Pinatubo gave out a huge blast. The volcanic smoke that billowed over Clark and Subic like the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion scared the negotiators out of their pants and dispersed all the Independence Day parades being held that morning, sending the message loud and clear that there was no point celebrating our so-called freedom while the US military bases stayed on Philippine soil.

On June 15, the climactic eruption destroyed Clark so completely that the US government lost interest in it and decided to focus on keeping just Subic. On September 16, however, the Philippine Senate voted to reject any extension. And so on November 26, 1991, just five months after the eruption, the Americans finally left Clark and the following year, November 24, 1992, they left Subic.

Pinatubo hastened and simplified the whole process and decided the matter for all reluctant parties.

It was the first time, since 1521 when Magellan landed in Cebu, and 1571 when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Manila Bay, that no foreign military forces were present on Philippine soil.