By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective On September 16, 1991, 12 senators, collectively called the “Magnificent 12,” went against the wishes of President Cory Aquino and voted for the non-renewal of the US-RP Military Bases treaty. This paved the way for the pull...
“We begin with the confidence that Senate Resolution No. 1414 is an expression of Constitutional Law on the matter of critical importance to the integrity of the Senate and the honor of this Republic.”
“Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton should be jailed in the Philippines.”
“The new Aguinaldos, Buencaminos and Paternos are still selling us down the river to foreign interests.”
“We will not be caught in the claws of the Dragon, nor the Eagle.”
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective There seems to be no limits to the depths those who are selling the Filipino people’s sovereignty, identity, and soul would go. Economically, the Aquino government tried to push for amendments to the 1987 Constitution to...
By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Take what I have to say in the spirit of academic discussion, she counseled in her lawyerly manner. But academic views are more than what she said thereafter: they provide explanations for many questionable...
For 2014, President Aquino’s “righteous path” took another perverted turn as the Philippines signed a defense agreement with the US, signalling the return of US bases in the country.
The proponents of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) were hard put in defending that it is not a basing agreement, as some senators and opponents say that it is.
Protesters tagged Aquino as a US lackey who sold out the country’s sovereignty worse than his predecessors because he welcomed the de-facto military bases thru EDCA; a lying leader who boasts of economic growth that only the few landlords and capitalists enjoy; a corrupt leader who corners gargantuan pork and patronage; and a killer for having unleashed the brutal Oplan Bayanihan counter-insurgency combat operations.
“The treachery of the cacique landed gentry and the modern-day carpetbaggers is represented today by the US-Aquino government which is wreaking havoc on the rich resources and exploiting the working masses of the Philippines.”
“The Filipinos are treated as security guards only, in these agreed locations, the Americans exercise all aspect of ownership, and that while the treaty is supposed to last for only 10 years, it can be renewed indefinitely.” – Dean Pacifico Agabin
Anti-US bases expert Dr. Rolando Simbulan said the presence of a US “sub-military camp” inside a Philippine military camp is not only “an insult,” but a violation of the Philippine Constitution.
“Psychological studies conducted by the US Army, Marine Corps, Harvard University, and other agencies revealing alarming trends on the state of mental health of their troops are a matter of security concern to Filipino people especially with the expected entry of tens of thousands of these forces under EDCA.” – Bobby Tuazon, Director for Policy Studies, Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
“Judging from the statements issued so far by DFA officials, it seems that President Aquino’s emerging position is to kowtow to US interests by invoking legal niceties in the Visiting Forces Agreement. Instead of fighting for our country’s sovereignty and safeguarding the rights of the Philippines and the victim Jennifer, the DFA is lawyering for the US.” – Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Emmi de Jesus
Environmentalists and lawmakers denounce the presence of the US Navy warships and the PH-US war games as “threat to sovereignty and security as well as to the environment.”
"I think China-Philippine relations would be different without US interference." – Wu Shicun, National Institute for South China Sea Studies
In 1991, September 16 became a shining moment of nationalism in Philippine history when the Senate stood up against the US by junking the proposed treaty that allows an extended stay of its military bases. In its 23rd year yesterday, environmental and...
SPECIAL REPORT: A Sept.16 forum on the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement looked back on the historic 1991 Senate decision on the removal of the US military bases in the country, and at the tasks ahead as their return looms.
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.
