VFA panel not taking Reds' threats lightly

While expressing confidence in security measures for the upcoming military exercises between Filipino and American troops, the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) said it is not taking lightly the threats from communist rebels.

"(These threats) are potential problems," said Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, who co-chairs the commission with Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon.

Left-wing activists and other groups opposed to the exercises have predicted that the return of US troops will result in a resurgence of prostitution and crimes by American soldiers.

"These groups are in for a major disappointment," Siazon said. "We intend to show our people that we have learned from the past."

Mercado believes that potential troubles might arise when the visiting US servicemen go on rest and recreation. But he said that US military officers are imposing a midnight curfew and a "no-drinking" rule on their troops.

"That means both sides have done all we could to ensure that the exercises would be beneficial to both countries," he said.

Siazon noted though that there had been no major problems in past joint military exercises because these were held in controlled military camps.

Mercado and Siazon reiterated that US troops would be subject to Philippine laws when out of duty as stipulated in the VFA that took effect on June 1 last year.

Called Balikatan, the exercises will begin with a seminar for some participants from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. Land, air and sea exercises will be held from Feb. 21 to March 3.

The exercises, to be joined by 2,383 Filipino troops and 2,380 US personnel, will be held at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and at the former Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base, which US forces abandoned in the early 1990s. Activities will also be held in Cavite and Palawan.

Capt. Mateo Mayuga, director of the military exercises, said 900 of the American troops would either be on board ships or inside controlled areas all at the same time.

With this, "we do not foresee any major difficulty insofar as the problems related to rest and recreation are concerned," he said.

Mayuga said both countries have agreed to conduct "inter-operability exercises" without any imagined or implied enemy. Chinese officials earlier called on the Philippines and the US to avoid using China as the perceived enemy during the war games.

President Estrada created the VFA Commission last week to ensure "respect for Philippine laws, state policies, public morals, customs and traditions."