By DEE AYROSO
Breaking up
Tags: Visiting Forces Agreement
VFA termination, ‘just and necessary’ – progressive group
“During this 180-day transition period, the Filipino people must remain vigilant against any reversal by the Philippine Government or any intervention by the US government.”
The Devil we know
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. unwittingly said something at odds with what his boss, President Rodrigo Duterte, has been saying since he came to power in 2016. The Philippines, “Teddy Boy” declared during a reception last July 4, the 243rd anniversary of American independence from Britain, cannot live without the United States of America…
Caution raised: Don’t depend on US military
“Let me state it publicly here and now, wala akong problema sa America (I have no problem with America)… We remain to be the best of friends with America.” That’s what President Duterte said a day before flying to Vietnam Wednesday for his first face-to-face diplomatic engagement with US President Donald Trump at the Asia-Pacific…
Strike 2 for the Visiting Forces Agreement
This is the second time that a US soldier is able to elude justice for committing a heinous crime against Filipino citizens here in our very own country.
Key issues to settle in Mamasapano tragedy
By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star The best step to quickly resolve the many questions why the Mamasapano operation ended in tragedy is for President Aquino to forthrightly assume responsibility as President and Commander-in-Chief. If and when he does so, P-Noy should explain the US role in the operation’s planning…
Our country’s mercenary army
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld The Aquino government, most especially the Philippine military, has displayed nothing but disdain and absolute lack of sympathy for the kin of murdered transgender woman Jennifer Laude as well as her German fiancé, Marc Sueselbeck, who have simply asked that the suspect, US serviceman Joseph Scott Pemberton, be placed…
Jennifer Laude, hate crimes, and the ‘big picture’
By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld Olongapo City prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos declared the other day during the preliminary investigation of the murder charge against Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton of the United States Marine Corps that “there is no gender issue” involved in the killing of Jennifer Laude. “The…
Unequal relations invites impunity
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld Much to the consternation of US and Philippine officialdom, the brutal killing of Jennifer Laude by suspect Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton has placed the issue of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) front and center of the demand for justice in this latest crime committed by a member…
EDCA — negotiated surrender of sovereignty
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld Now we know why the “negotiations” for what would emerge as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) were conducted under a cloak of secrecy. Not a single byte of the draft was made available to other government functionaries, not even the treaty-making arm of the Philippine state, the Senate,…
US bases: Aquino’s gift to Obama
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld This April, during the much-awaited visit of US President Barack Obama, Philippine President BS Aquino will be serving nothing less than our national sovereignty and dignity on a silver platter via the new “access agreement” negotiated in secret by the two governments. All that remains to be worked out,…