No secret agenda in war games—Cimatu

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Military Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu denied yesterday any secret agenda in the US military buildup in this port city to help the Armed Forces fight the Abu Sayyaf in nearby Basilan.

Cimatu told reporters the military will be "very transparent" to assure the public that US troops would not be involved in combat.

"We’ll make it transparent as much as possible," he said.

Cimatu said the media will be allowed to observe most of the day-to-day activities of US troops at the site of the "Balikatan 2002" joint military exercises.

"But there will be limitations, especially in restricted areas that concern operational matters which might affect the training," he said.

Cimatu said the main body of US troops will arrive either on Sunday or Monday and the military exercises will begin in the first week of February.

"Aircraft will be coming here," he said. "It would be part of the training of Philippine Air Force pilots to fly at night."

About 50 American soldiers are already in Zamboanga City to prepare the logistics and materials needed for the training exercise, he added.

Meanwhile, Vice President Teofisto Guingona, who is also foreign affairs secretary, said yesterday he has submitted his proposals on the Balikatan military exercises to the National Security Council which will meet tomorrow.

"I have submitted some of my proposals which should be discussed in the Security Council," he said. "It’s a sensitive matter."

Guingona said he welcomes a Senate inquiry into the joint Philippine-US war games.

No gag order has been imposed on him in talking about the Balikatan 2002 military exercise, he added.

In a related development, Sen. Blas Ople threatened yesterday to resign as chairman of the committee on foreign relations after Majority Leader Loren Legarda insisted that the committee on national defense under Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. be given primary jurisdiction over resolutions on the conduct of the Balikatan military exercise.

Ople said he felt anguish that his committee should now play a secondary role in something which he considers primarily a foreign policy matter.

"If that is the policy, then I am tendering my resignation as chairman of the foreign relations committee," he said.

On the other hand, Legarda said the rules committee and the secretariat have already decided that the national defense committee have primary jurisdiction over any inquiry on Balikatan under the Visiting Forces Agreement.

But Senate President Franklin Drilon said Ople had a "virtual patent right" on the committee because no member of the majority had the expertise on foreign relations as compared to him.

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the opposition is fully supporting Ople on the issue.

Under Senate rules, committee chairmen are elected and a resignation only takes effect after the chamber has voted for his replacement.

‘Immoral, demonic, evil and blasphemous’

Meanwhile, militant groups urged Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin yesterday to denounce the US military buildup in Mindanao.

They called on the Arroyo administration to put a stop to militarization in Mindanao so as not to endanger the lives of civilians, especially the Moros.

In a statement, the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya described as "immoral, demonic, evil and blasphemous" the joint Philippine-US military exercises in Basilan and Zamboanga.

Gerry Albert Corpuz, Pamalakaya information officer, said Sin must issue a pastoral statement informing the Filipino people about the perils and dangers of hosting the war games.

On the other hand, Amirah Lidasan, secretary general of the Moro-Christian People’s Alliance, said Muslim civilians, whether Filipino or foreign, are the real targets of Balikatan, and not the Abu Sayyaf.

"With all the war machineries being transported by C-130s in Zamboanga this week, the Balikatan 2002 will not be merely a military exercise nor a training but a direct maneuvering of the US forces to make Basilan their second battleground after Afghanistan," she said.

The Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) called on the people yesterday to join nationwide protest actions to show the government that they do not welcome the entry of US troops as military advisers in Mindanao.

"Let us demand the immediate pullout of US troops now and unite to completely liberate our country from the yoke of US imperialism," read the PCPR statement.

In a statement, Elmer Labog, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general, said Mrs. Arroyo has been wooing the US government’s support for her bid to win the 2004 presidential elections.

"It is shameful that while the poor demand for jobs, wage hikes, social services and food on their tables, President Arroyo greets these US mercenaries with full hospitality," read the statement.

Labog said Mrs. Arroyo is a "puppet" who has allowed the US to trample on the national sovereignty and the country’s territorial integrity.

"The actions of the President should outrightly be condemned and opposed by all progressive sectors," read the statement. "It would no longer be a surprise if (Mrs.) Arroyo would be declared as the number one puppet of the United States."

The KMU assailed Mrs. Arroyo’s "extreme display of puppetry and subservience" to the US government with her "persistent promotion" of the Balikatan 2002 military exercise and the approval of the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement.

"Malacañang should give direct orders for the withdrawal of both US and AFP troops in all training and combat areas," read the statement. "The Balikatan exercises should be aborted and the militarization should be stopped." — With reports from Sandy Araneta, Pia Lee- Brago, Efren Danao