Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philippine Star
February 19, 2008 The two-week Balikatan civic-military exercises between Filipino and American troops that will be held in Luzon and Mindanao started yesterday.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said around 6,000 US troops will train with about 2,000 Filipino soldiers in the exercises, which end on March 3.
The military exercises will be held at Clark Air Base in Pampanga and Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, and civil military operations like medical missions and engineering components will be undertaken in Sulu, Basilan, Marawi, Sultan Kudarat, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.
At the House of Representatives, 18 lawmakers from Mindanao called yesterday for the scrapping of the Balikatan in Lanao del Sur pending the conclusion of the government’s peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
In Resolution 467, the lawmakers said the exercises have been met with strong opposition and condemnation, culminating in a province-wide rally last Feb. 4.
“Individuals and groups, including civic, traditional, professional, and local government executives, made public their protest on the conduct of military exercises in the province,” the legislators said.
The lawmakers said their constituents’ apprehensions center on the abuses that could result from the military exercises, including those against Muslim women, and destruction of property.
They also expressed concern over the use of live ammunition and the holding of the war games in “actual combat areas” where the military is pursuing the Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Esperon formally opened the bilateral exercises in a ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and other ranking Filipino and US military officials also attended the event.
In her speech, Kenney emphasized how Balikatan evolved from combat training to an exercise involving a large component of medical and development efforts.
“What does Balikatan mean for the people?” she asked.
“Filipino and American doctors treating children and adults. No questions asked, no discrimination, all you have to do is show up. I have seen people bring their animals for treatment, and these animals are their source of livelihood, that one cow, that one pig.”
Kenney said Balikatan has helped provide a more dignified environment for people in rural areas, where roads and schools have been built through the combined efforts of US and Filipino soldiers.
She is looking forward to going to some of the exercise sites again and seeing for herself the development being brought by Balikatan, she said.
Romulo said the annual military exercise is a partnership for peace, security and development.
The Balikatan has led to the “neutralization” of leaders of terrorist groups in Mindanao, he added.
For the first time, foreign observers from Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Brunei are expected to participate in the military exercises.
Gov’t to monitor Balikatan
The government is monitoring the two-week Balikatan exercises that started yesterday to prevent another rape case involving an American soldier.
“We will make sure that it (rape case) will not happen again,” said a ranking DFA official, who asked for anonymity
“We are also coordinating with the US embassy and other involved agencies, such as the militaries of the Philippines and the US,” the official said.
The official said the Philippine government will ensure that the curfew for US servicemen is properly observed.
“We will make sure that there will be no controversy in this year’s Balikatan exercises,” the official said.
This year’s Balikatan will focus on training of Filipino and US troops to provide relief and assistance together, in the event of natural disasters and other crises that endanger public health and safety.
Service members of the two countries will also conduct combined staff exercises and field training in Luzon and Palawan to improve contingency planning and strengthen maritime security.
US Navy ship visits and a Joint/Combined Exchange Training exercise will take place in several locations in the country.
Balikatan 2008 will be the 24th annual event of its kind held under the auspices of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
At the sidelines of the military training, Filipino and American armed forces will also conduct humanitarian assistance projects in Central and Western Mindanao, the Sulu archipelago, and Palawan.
They will offer free medical, dental, and veterinary care and construct and repair schools and other infrastructure in communities most in need of assistance.
In December 2006, the US government threatened to cancel all the military exercises and humanitarian operations in the country because the Philippines failed to transfer custody to the US embassy of Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who was convicted of raping a Filipina while the Balikatan was in progress.
On Dec. 29, 2006, Philippine officials returned Smith to the custody of the US Embassy even without a court order.
Thereafter the US announced the Balikatan military exercises would be held as scheduled in 2007.
Fact-finding on US bases
Alarmed by the persistent reports that the US military is involved in combat and the building of a military facility in Mindanao, a group of activists started its fact-finding mission in Zamboanga City and Sulu, officials said yesterday.
Representatives of the Citizens’ Peace Watch met with officials of Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command for a possible briefing on the presence of the American forces and assistance provided by the US military to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
However, the group was not permitted by the US Joint Special Operation Task-Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) to conduct an ocular inspection of its base inside the camp of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in Camp Navarro, this city.
AFP gets trucks, arms
The military took delivery yesterday of 150 military trucks and 2,000 machine guns procured as part of the Armed Forces Capability Upgrade Program, a component of the Philippine Defense Reform program.
Esperon said they are expecting more than 4,000 more machine guns by April and more than 450 trucks by year’s end.
“These new equipment would help us in pursuing our marching orders, so that by 2010, we could have provided the country with the physical and psychological security that is essential for sustained economic development,” he said.
--Pia Lee-Brago, James Mananghaya, Jess Diaz, Roel Pareño
February 19, 2008 The two-week Balikatan civic-military exercises between Filipino and American troops that will be held in Luzon and Mindanao started yesterday.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said around 6,000 US troops will train with about 2,000 Filipino soldiers in the exercises, which end on March 3.
The military exercises will be held at Clark Air Base in Pampanga and Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, and civil military operations like medical missions and engineering components will be undertaken in Sulu, Basilan, Marawi, Sultan Kudarat, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.
At the House of Representatives, 18 lawmakers from Mindanao called yesterday for the scrapping of the Balikatan in Lanao del Sur pending the conclusion of the government’s peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
In Resolution 467, the lawmakers said the exercises have been met with strong opposition and condemnation, culminating in a province-wide rally last Feb. 4.
“Individuals and groups, including civic, traditional, professional, and local government executives, made public their protest on the conduct of military exercises in the province,” the legislators said.
The lawmakers said their constituents’ apprehensions center on the abuses that could result from the military exercises, including those against Muslim women, and destruction of property.
They also expressed concern over the use of live ammunition and the holding of the war games in “actual combat areas” where the military is pursuing the Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Esperon formally opened the bilateral exercises in a ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and other ranking Filipino and US military officials also attended the event.
In her speech, Kenney emphasized how Balikatan evolved from combat training to an exercise involving a large component of medical and development efforts.
“What does Balikatan mean for the people?” she asked.
“Filipino and American doctors treating children and adults. No questions asked, no discrimination, all you have to do is show up. I have seen people bring their animals for treatment, and these animals are their source of livelihood, that one cow, that one pig.”
Kenney said Balikatan has helped provide a more dignified environment for people in rural areas, where roads and schools have been built through the combined efforts of US and Filipino soldiers.
She is looking forward to going to some of the exercise sites again and seeing for herself the development being brought by Balikatan, she said.
Romulo said the annual military exercise is a partnership for peace, security and development.
The Balikatan has led to the “neutralization” of leaders of terrorist groups in Mindanao, he added.
For the first time, foreign observers from Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Brunei are expected to participate in the military exercises.
Gov’t to monitor Balikatan
The government is monitoring the two-week Balikatan exercises that started yesterday to prevent another rape case involving an American soldier.
“We will make sure that it (rape case) will not happen again,” said a ranking DFA official, who asked for anonymity
“We are also coordinating with the US embassy and other involved agencies, such as the militaries of the Philippines and the US,” the official said.
The official said the Philippine government will ensure that the curfew for US servicemen is properly observed.
“We will make sure that there will be no controversy in this year’s Balikatan exercises,” the official said.
This year’s Balikatan will focus on training of Filipino and US troops to provide relief and assistance together, in the event of natural disasters and other crises that endanger public health and safety.
Service members of the two countries will also conduct combined staff exercises and field training in Luzon and Palawan to improve contingency planning and strengthen maritime security.
US Navy ship visits and a Joint/Combined Exchange Training exercise will take place in several locations in the country.
Balikatan 2008 will be the 24th annual event of its kind held under the auspices of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
At the sidelines of the military training, Filipino and American armed forces will also conduct humanitarian assistance projects in Central and Western Mindanao, the Sulu archipelago, and Palawan.
They will offer free medical, dental, and veterinary care and construct and repair schools and other infrastructure in communities most in need of assistance.
In December 2006, the US government threatened to cancel all the military exercises and humanitarian operations in the country because the Philippines failed to transfer custody to the US embassy of Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who was convicted of raping a Filipina while the Balikatan was in progress.
On Dec. 29, 2006, Philippine officials returned Smith to the custody of the US Embassy even without a court order.
Thereafter the US announced the Balikatan military exercises would be held as scheduled in 2007.
Fact-finding on US bases
Alarmed by the persistent reports that the US military is involved in combat and the building of a military facility in Mindanao, a group of activists started its fact-finding mission in Zamboanga City and Sulu, officials said yesterday.
Representatives of the Citizens’ Peace Watch met with officials of Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command for a possible briefing on the presence of the American forces and assistance provided by the US military to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
However, the group was not permitted by the US Joint Special Operation Task-Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) to conduct an ocular inspection of its base inside the camp of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in Camp Navarro, this city.
AFP gets trucks, arms
The military took delivery yesterday of 150 military trucks and 2,000 machine guns procured as part of the Armed Forces Capability Upgrade Program, a component of the Philippine Defense Reform program.
Esperon said they are expecting more than 4,000 more machine guns by April and more than 450 trucks by year’s end.
“These new equipment would help us in pursuing our marching orders, so that by 2010, we could have provided the country with the physical and psychological security that is essential for sustained economic development,” he said.
--Pia Lee-Brago, James Mananghaya, Jess Diaz, Roel Pareño