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U.S. Access - Selling Children and Sovereignty
First Published: Reflections - The Philippine Daily Inquirer Publication Date: 11th October 1992 Author's Name: Father Shay Cullen SSC Riding a horse and wearing an American cowboy hat Mayor Richard Gordon led a crowd of followers to the main gate to wave farewell after nearly 100 years of U.S. military presence. Unexpectedly there were anti-American slogans and placards from the crowds. This was unthinkable just a few months ago when locals were docile and submissive to the whims and demands of the US servicemen and local politicians were pimping their own people. In his speech to the rain-soaked gathering the next day the mayor hastened to explain that the rally was a farewell send-off not a protest rally. If that is the changing mood in Olongapo what must it be like elsewhere. Granting access to US forces will be a volatile social issue. The base pull-out means an end to military sales credit and foreign aid. With government spending at an all time high they will take anything they can get and give away anything in return. Fatally weakened by foreign debt payments incurred by the elite families these same people will give away the sovereignty so hard won after almost 100 years. To protect their lands and political fiefdoms from the rebellious peasants the rulers need the military. Giving access to the U.S, means "military assistance " for the AFP ,or at least the generals, who can then send young barrio boys to fight and die for the elite landlords. The statement of defense Secretary Renato De Villa that there is a tacit agreement between the Government and the United States that the mutual defense treaty should remain and access will be given is evidence of this . Any arrangement, commercial or otherwise is morally wrong. It will be a political blunder too. Access means bringing sailors, nuclear weapons and reactors into Philippine waters. It's a mockery of the constitution and will ignite pro-Filipino passions. What else will they sell to the United States after prostituting the women and children? This means nothing to the well-heeled who live in luxury and want to continue doing so. Their allegiance is to another nation not to their own people. Giving access to the U.S. forces means that Philippine airports and ports will again host visiting U.S. sailors and airmen and a continuation of the colonial culture, moral decay, the spread of AIDS, woman and child abuse and the continuation of the insurgency. The rebels have always held that the total pull out of U.S. troops was a pre-condition of peace. Again it is a sell out of sovereignty, dignity and self-respect - just for the money. We must be out of our minds to even consider it. If we don't take a stand now there will be nothing to stand for. This country will be swept by the winds of decadence and immorality. All our religious piety means nothing if it doesn't flow into action for what is right and true. Parents say they love their children but frequently do nothing to save and preserve a clean moral environment for them to grow in. Granting access to the U.S. means a new flow of money to the pockets of the AFP and the Government. That's why the AFP and President Ramos are desperate to grant access but can they take the political risk. With only 20% of the electorate voting for him President Ramos must be wise and cautious not to bring back street demonstrations in front of the U.S. Embassy. More public protests and social unrest will put the final nail in the coffin of Philippine hopes for investment and progress. One immediate effect will be the failure of the peace talks. The AFP will ask themselves why make peace when we can fight a war and get money for it? That is why there is growing social problems, so much money for war so little for health, education and economic development. Without the US military assistance the government is dealing from a position of weakness. Grant the US access and it has some money but loses the propaganda war. It will be all the more branded as a lackey of a foreign power armed to suppress it's own people for foreign interests. So much for the commitment to end poverty and make a bright future for the children. The rebel movement can only get stronger because of this. That is why granting access is a political and constitutional minefield. The rebels can see that nothing has changed in the unjust social structure. 95 years of U,S. presence has left a few families living in ostentatious luxury and wealth ruling over the many surviving in stinking poverty and squalor. The shingle hanging on the door to all this reads : democracy! With the social problems of poverty, landless peasants, spreading slums, corruption and unjust judges a slide towards anarchy is inevitable. The rebels say that making peace under these conditions is like digging their own graves. If police can massacre their own with impunity what might happen to the rebels talking peace? After all many of them are victims of social injustice, torture and unjust imprisonment. Granting access to the U.S. will increase international sympathy for their cause too not weaken it. That is why they are holding out for peace talks to be held abroad. They can get recognition for what they claim they already have belligerency status in the eyes of the world community. That would be a severe blow to the Government because it confers a kind of legitimacy on the insurgents and they can even form a government in exile that other government can recognize. But the more the Philippines compromise their constitution for money by giving the U.S. access the more we will be pictured as the pimps of our own sovereignty and independence. Just because others do it does not make it right for the Philippines. Like the battered and abused wife who clings to her abuser the Philippines government is still clawing at the knees of the dominant Uncle Sam as he stands in the doorway. After almost 100 years of occupation and abuse can we ever really say no?
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