U.S. GIs in Mindanao Wantonly Violate Philippine Constitution, and GMA's Administration Wantonly Abets It!"

"U.S. GIs in Mindanao Wantonly Violate Philippine Constitution, and GMA's Administration Wantonly Abets It!"

The 1987 Philippine Constitution (Section 25, Article XVIII, Transitory Provisions) prohibits the presence of foreign military (foreign military bases, troops, or faciliies), in Philippine territory except "under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate and, when Congress so requires, ratified by a majority of the votes cast by the people in a national referendum held for that purpose, and recognized as a treaty by the other contracting State." The Visiting Forces Agreement (1998) between the Philippines and the United States of America is one such "treaty." (It's being a legitimate treaty is highly assailable). It allows the presence of U.S. military in the Philippines. However, such presence, as prescribed by the VFA, is conditional or limited. Such presence must be for the sole and specific purpose of conducting joint military exercises or activities authorized under the VFA, and for limited durations ("from time to time") between the U.S. military forces and the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The continued presence of American military personnel inside a Philippine camp in Zamboanga City has been going on for many years now. The Americans have actually established a camp within a camp at the then camp of the Southern Command Headquarters of the Philippine Army in Zamboanga City. They have virtually established an American base in the Philippines! U.S. soldiers have been assigned there for a tour of duty and are continuously replaced by another set of personnel as soon as one tour ends. This means, they are there 24/7, 30/12, or, 365 days a year. This violates the first condition. i.e., that the presence of the US military must be only for a limited duration. The American soldiers in Zamboanga City are actually engaged in actual military operations against the Abu Sayaf Group (ASG) of terrorists and Jemayah Islamiah (JI) international terrorists found in Mindanao and thereabouts. This violates the other condition, i.e., that the purpose or objective of their stay in the Philippines is to conduct joint-military exercises with Philippine military. The US military operations or activities in Mindanao are neither joint nor mere exercises. They are there to actually pursue, or interdict, search and destroy, mostly by themselves or alone sans the presence of AFP soldiers, the terrorists of the ASG and the JI wherever they may be found in the Philippines. In view of the foregoing, the VFA must be abrogated forthwith and the violations thereof, as well as violations of the Constitution, by the Americans and their co-conspirators, GMA and her Administration, be fully investigated, and the perpetrators be dealt with severely in accordance with law. Atty. Zosimo Jesus "Jess" Paredes II'Former Undersecretary and Executive Director,Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement