‘No RP interest involved in Iraq war’

No national interest is involved in the US policy against Iraq, Sen. Joker Arroyo said yesterday, as he lashed at the Arroyo administration for expressing support for President George Bush’s Iraq doctrine.

"How low can we get?" he said, as he lamented the continued open Philippine support to US policy even if the United States had not been fair in its treatment of the Philippines.

He pointed out that in return for the Philippines’ "canine" devotion to the Bush doctrine, the US State Department issued an advisory warning US citizens against coming to the Philippines because of alleged terrorist threats.

"This has discouraged foreign investments," he said.

He also charged that the United States is a principal advocate in pressuring the House and the Senate to amend the Anti-Money Laundering Act because the Financial Action Task Force believes the Philippine banking system is a conduit of, among others, terrorist funds.

"While the President would like us to cast our lot with the US in a show of hands in its fight against terrorism, the US does not do anything to help cleanse the stain of terrorism that the Americans themselves have stamped on us," he added.

He stressed that it is axiomatic that a country’s foreign policy should be guided by self-interest, not other countries’ interests. He maintained that no national interest is served in maintaining the "canine" devotion to the Bush doctrine on Iraq.

Senators Manny Villar, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph Recto and Noli de Castro all shared the sentiments of Arroyo.

"Trying to show that the Philippines is a trusted ally of the United States is not worth the risks to the lives of 1.5 million Filipinos in the Middle East," Villar said.

Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations, said the government should give top priority to the welfare of the Filipino workers in the Middle East and desist from playing an active role in any war against Iraq.

"If the United States had over one million of its citizens scattered in various parts of the Middle East, I am certain their view of starting war in the region would be different," Pangilinan commented.

He warned that all-out support for the US could open Filipinos abroad, especially those in the Middle East, to terrorist retaliation.

He said that the report of US Secretary of State Colin Powell before the United Nations last Wednesday did not contain conclusive proof that Iraq was indeed harboring weapons of mass destruction.

"The Powell report is based mainly on suspicions instead of actual facts," Pangilinan said.

Recto said that the country should prepare for more economic hardships once a war on Iraq ensues.

He maintained that even a "swift" defeat of the Iraqi forces would be no assurance for a quick recovery.

"The war may be swift, but it would have a long-term effect," Recto said. — With Sammy Santos