Disclose details of US troops' access to Phl, gov't told

MANILA, Philippines - Militant group Bayan on Friday called on the Philippine government to divulge the details of its planned access agreement with the US military.

“Despite all the pronouncements of transparency, the Aquino government has kept the details of the ongoing negotiations for increased US rotational deployment under wraps," Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.said.

Reyes said officials of the  government should disclose details on the agreement such as how many US troops will be allowed in the country , how long will be their stay and where will they be deployed.

Reyes also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to explain in full the framework agreement with the US, titled “Framework Agreement for Increased Rotational Presence and Enhanced Defense Cooperation."

"When the US and Philippine governments say they want increased rotational presence, the presumption is that there is already existing US rotational presence in the country. If what is being referred to is the rotational deployment of some 600 US Special Forces in Mindanao since 2002, then this is indeed problematic. Those US Special Forces being rotated have been in our country for the last 11 years, their presence already considered permanent,” Reyes said.

"We find alarming the statements of the Philippine negotiators that there will be no specific number of troops being rotated. This could mean 100 to 10,000 US troops at any given time. There is also no specified duration for their stay. They may be rotated but their actual presence can last for years as we have seen in Mindanao,” he added.

Reyes also called on the government to disclose which facilities will be used by the US forces.

“From what we are hearing, it seems that the entire Philippine archipelago will be open to US troops and warships. US troops will not just be limited to Subic and Clark. They can access any Philippine facility and station their troops there,” Reyes said.

Bayan earlier said that the Philippine-US access agreement violates the Philippine Constitution as the Charter prohibits a permanent foreign basing in the country. - Dennis Carcamo