An alliance of fisherfolk groups has asked Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to issue a legal opinion on the government’s plan to allow US and Japanese troops access to local military bases.
In a letter Tuesday, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), a national federation of 43 small fisherfolk organizations, insisted that the “constitutionality and legal correctness of the military’s plan should be questioned.”
“We believe the justice department is constitutionally, politically and morally obliged to issue a legal opinion questioning the legality of such proposal allowing the United States and other ‘junior partners’ of the White House to enjoy unlimited access to Philippine military bases,” Pamalakaya said.
The letter was sent a day after Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia told reporters in Manila that the proposal for greater US access to Philippine military bases is still under negotiation, adding the talks are taking time to make sure the accord would conform to the country’s Constitution.
In its letter, Pamalakaya cited Section 25, Article XVIII of the Constitution as basis for disallowing foreigners to gain access to Philippine bases.
The portion of the Constitution states: “After the expiration in 1991 of the Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America concerning Military Bases, foreign military bases, troops, or facilities shall not be allowed in the Philippines except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate and, when the 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 federation accused the US government of violating Philippine sovereignty by deploying an amphibious assault ship in the Philippines
“The US navy official blog site confirmed that the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD6), a forward-deployed amphibious assault ship of the United States 7th Fleet, has been patrolling the Philippine Sea since July 1,” it said.
“Although navy officials of both governments refused to comment on the blog report, the confirmation regarding the presence of USS Bonhomme Richard in Philippine territorial waters is as wholesale violation of the sovereign rights of over 100 million Filipinos,” the federation added.
An earlier Reuters report, citing several anonymous senior Navy officials, said the bases would allow the Philippines to station warships and fighter jets just 124 nautical miles from the highly disputed Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal.
The Navy officials, however, stressed that the military bases would be for the Philippines and not the US, saying that P10 billion would be used for the development plan upon President Benigno Aquino III’s approval. — Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News
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