Well, he gave a very interesting and detailed historical perspective on the continued control of the U.S. over the Philippines with regard to sovereignty and the country on national defense. I listened very intently and he explained the situation in a very, I would say, factual manner and it is very worrisome when you see that we are – as he said – the last country in Asia to have an army capable of defending ourselves from external threats…merely having an army under the beck and call of the government of the U.S. to be used as a pawn in its so- called war on insurgency and terrorism.

So yes, I believe very strongly in what the professor says, because the Philippines continues to be a country with not much pride in our own sovereignty because we continue to exist as a neo-colonial state, as a de facto American colony with regard to economic and national defense issues.

It’s now almost 61 years after independence. You must get the impression that the Philippine isn’t a sovereign country at all with the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) acting as a mere appendage of the U.S. military. Isn’t it?

Yes, it is merely an appendage of the U.S. Army because we are bound by the treaties to be trained by the U.S. Army and to buy all arms from the U.S. This would be tantamount in economic terms to a U.S. monopoly. Instead of being able to choose the best armaments, the best arms with the best prices in the free market, we are bound to the U.S. without the right or the power to choose and buy [what we need at a] price more suitable to us. So this is very inefficient. [We are caught in] a controlled economy where there is only one supplier; and monopolies, as you know, are never really very efficient.

And this has led to a steady decline of the capability of our armed forces when it comes to national sovereignty but they are continuously aided by the US Army to kill the perceived terrorists and insurgents who are not really terrorists and insurgents but opponents of U.S. imperialism and the present regime albeit illegal (because Mrs. Arroyo cheated her way to election of 2004). Many people do not think she is the legitimate president.

So the goals and aims of the U.S. government are to preserve monopoly of power in the Philippines, both economic and military. It is exactly the same as Mrs. Arroyo’s desire to preserve herself in power, so they are mutually beneficial for each other but not for the country as a whole.

Irony of history … there’s so much talk about free economy but when it comes to military equipment, obviously it’s exactly the opposite.

I just want to say, it is very ironic because when they say, oh we should be grateful to the U.S., they are giving us so much military aid, only to pay themselves back …so there is really not much given because the money given to us is used to buy armaments back to pay the Americans. There is really nothing much that the Philippines gets but America has all the gains.

Who is mainly responsible for this kind of ongoing counter-insurgency — the U.S. or the GMA administration?

Well, as I said, I believe that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is being used as a pawn to keep the U.S. influence on the Philippines intact both militarily (in matters of defense) and politically so that the U.S. can continue also to keep their multinationals in the Philippines with all the privileges that a multinational has. But in terms of killing the insurgents, I believe that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration [with its security advisers, AFP and Philippine National Police or PNP] are the ones who pinpoint who to kill because they are their political opposition, legitimate political opposition.

And I don’t think that the U.S. really is concerned as to who is killed as long as it helps prop up the government and as long as their interests are not compromised. As the professor said, he believes that the U.S. knows about these extra-judicial killings; however, they do not condemn them. But as to who to kill – I think this is really more the job of the Macapagal Arroyo administration because she is killing her political opponents. She wants the U.S. to turn a blind eye to the killing, as long as they can keep military and economic hold over the Philippines.

Would you agree that there is sort of dirty “division of labor” going on?

Shall we call it an immoral division of labor to keep both of them in power – the illegitimate Macapagal-Arroyo administration – and to keep U.S. interests forever in power in the Philippines, militarily, economically and politically.

Quite amazing, you hardly come across a politician, in this case even a senator, who so openly speaks about U.S. imperialism…

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