Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 3, Number 40 November 9 - 15, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
news at a glance Bayan
urges VFA review, U.S. troops’ probe The
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) urged the Senate
Nov. 3 to investigate Visiting Forces Agreement Commission (VFACom) findings on
the “one-sidedness of the existing RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement” and the
alleged U.S. troops’ violation of provisions of the Agreement. Bayan
secretary general Teddy Casiño said that no U.S. soldier has been arrested or
prosecuted despite “reports of abuses and misconduct made by U.S. troops in
the past.” “This
underscores how unequal the VFA is,” Casiño said. “The Philippine
government virtually surrenders its criminal jurisdiction over violations of
Philippine laws.” Casiño likewise called for an inquiry on the “sacking” of VFACom head lawyer Amado Valdez. Valdez, a private prosecutor in the 2001 impeachment of President Estrada, recently got the ire of Foreign Secretary Blas Ople over the reported incident of drunken U.S. soldiers at their post in Zamboanga, southern Philippines. *
* * OFWs’
“passport to slavery” Migrante
spokesperson John Monterona said however that there is no proof that this
practice prevents any illegal activity. For overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) in the Middle East, he said, the gravest problem is employers who refuse
them their right to keep their papers such as contracts and passports. *
* * Bayan
scores Filipino troops deployment in Liberia, Iraq
“The
Philippines is trying too hard to become America’s sidekick in policing the
world,” Bayan spokesperson Renato M. Reyes, Jr. said last week on the
deployment of 145 Filipino ‘peacekeepers’ to Liberia. Reyes
said this move was against the national interest of a country low in resources
and yet these “incursions disguised as peacekeeping missions only tend to
serve the political and military interests of the US.” “We should not wait for Filipino troops to start dying in Iraq and Liberia,” Reyes said. “We should send our troops home…(and) not get involved in dirty wars that only the U.S. stands to benefit from.” Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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