read it and weep. http://www.gov.ph/2014/04/29/document-enhanced-defense-cooperation-agreement/ like gina apostol says on facebook, article 3 gives everything away. nakakapanghina. nakakapanlumo. nakakadesespera. how we wasted the two decades since we kicked out the u.s. bases. by now we should could have gotten wiser, smarter, about how to deal with america, even if only in terms of getting a fair deal and a little more respect at last.
The Philippines will extend once more the rights of a foreign military power on its islands — and it will welcome the continuing betrayal of its constitution. But a national unconscious also drives it, creating emotional binaries, and a lack of alternatives in this game of chess over Philippine seas. In a weird nesting-doll of historic inversion, Filipinos will accept U.S. planes and warships on its soil, spurred by anti-Chinese animosity once legalized by old U.S. biases, tying it once again to U.S. interests — while China remains ascendant. Meanwhile, eight Philippine Marines wait for their provisions on their ruinous battleship, stranded guardians of kalayaan, or freedom, on the shoal. ~ Gina Apostol
MANILA, Philippines—Three of the senators who rejected the renewal of the Philippine-US bases treaty in 1991 on Saturday expressed concern over the constitutionality of the new Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation (AEDC) that is expected to be signed between the two countries during the visit of US President Barack Obama this week.
In a statement, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. and former Senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tañada demanded that the agreement be scrutinized by both the Senate and the public. The statement was also signed by several lawyers and civil society members.