Text Fwd: VFA unity statement and launching invite

* Forwad by Roland Simbulan, Agatha Haun *

[nousbases-info] Fwd: VFA unity statement and launching invite

Stand for sovereignty. Junk the VFA!

Our country is once again at a crossroads. We are compelled to choose
between rightfully asserting national sovereignty or surrendering it once
more in the name of so-called "special relations."

The continuing detention of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith at
the US embassy in Manila is clear proof of the grossly unequal character of
the Visiting Forces Agreement or VFA. And despite the Philippine Supreme
Court ruling declaring the Romulo-Kenney Agreement illegal and that Smith
should be returned to the custody of Philippine authorities, the Arroyo
government has not sought to regain custody of Smith. Instead, the Arroyo
government continues to insist that Smith should remain in the US embassy
until the highest court finally decides on his appeal. There is also every
indication that the US will not surrender Smith to Philippine authorities at
all.

The Smith case is only the most recent example of how grossly lopsided the
VFA is in favor of the US. The VFA also falls short of the Philippine
constitutional requirements for a valid treaty. It was ratified by the
Philippine Senate but not by the US Senate and was merely recognized as a
treaty by the US State Department.

While the Philippine government enforces the VFA in the country, it is not
so in the US. With the recent US Supreme Court ruling in Medellin vs. Texas,
treaties entered into by the US are deemed unenforceable in the US unless
there is an implementing law or if the treaty is self-executory. The RP-US
VFA falls short of these requirements set by the US Supreme Court.

With the unequal standards in the ratification and implementation of the
agreement, no less than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
Philippines in his dissenting opinion has called the VFA unconstitutional
and a "slur on our sovereignty".

The complimentary agreement VFA 2 further underscores the gross inequality
and double-standards applied to US and Filipino troops. Filipino soldiers
who are accused or convicted of crimes in the US will not have the same
privileges that Daniel Smith enjoys today.VFA 2 highlights the utter absence
of mutuality and reciprocity in the agreements.

Apart from being unconstitutional on its face, the VFA is also
unconstitutional in its application. It allows the entry of an unlimited
number of foreign troops for an indefinite period of time sans any basing
treaty. Since 2002, US troops have been stationed in the Philippines under
various pretexts and engaged in various questionable military operations.

For being patently unequal, unconstitutional and an affront to our national
sovereignty, the VFA must be abrogated. The Executive branch, through
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, should exercise the right to terminate
the agreement. With the abrogation of the VFA, the Arroyo government will
have no other recourse but to impose Philippine laws and regain custody over
Daniel Smith.

Our choice is simple and clear. We must choose sovereignty over supposed
benefits from the VFA. We must choose national dignity over so-called
"special relations" with the United States. The Philippines must conduct
its foreign relations based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and
non-intervention in each country’s internal affairs.

Junk the VFA now!