By RONALYN V. OLEA
“No matter how US Ambassador Harry Thomas tries to sugarcoat the Balikatan exercises, it is nothing but massive counterinsurgency operations by US troops in Philippine soil.” – League of Filipino Students
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
“US troops have no business in Hacienda Luisita except to join the armed forces in stepping up the militarization and perpetuate a climate of fear as protesting farm workers persist in their demands for land,” Gabriela Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said, “We want the US troops out of Luisita and out of the Philippines.”
By Dateline Philippines MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has granted the petition for writs of amparo and habeas data filed by the family of Gregan Cardeño, a translator for American forces in Mindanao, who was found dead last February 2 inside his room at the Joint Special Operation Task Force (JSOTFP) military headquarters…
There is still a month before the Balikatan exercises begin in Bicol, but already, preparations for these have claimed the life of a one-year-old girl and brought about US military intervention – with US troops manning checkpoints that have been set up across the region, most notably those in Pili, Camarines Sur and Matnog, Sorsogon.
Since losing a number of its major overseas bases in the 1990s, the US has had to make shifts in its basing strategy. It now increasingly relies on what its Department of Defense calls “Cooperative Security Locations” (CSLs), and there is now less emphasis on “Main Operating Bases” (MOBs). The US has a number of…
Seventeen years ago, the Philippine Senate voted to reject the renewal of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement, ending more than 40 years of US military presence and activity in the Philippines. The decision was met with acclaim from nearly all quarters, indicating it had broad support from the population. Within a year, the Filipino people once…