TOR signed; war games on

The RP-US "Balikatan" war games finally start this weekend after Manila and Washington agreed on the "terms of reference" (TOR) for their first joint military operations since US military bases in the country were shut down in 1991.

Agreement on the TOR was finalized after representatives of both governments signed the minutes of the discussion between Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona and US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly.

The discussion between Guingona and Kelly supposedly reflected the approval of the "council of ministers" required by the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) under which the Balikatan exercise is being conducted.

The minutes of the discussion were signed for Manila by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American affairs Minerva Falcon and US chargé d’affaires Robert Fitts for Washington.

At Malacañang, President Arroyo expressed satisfaction that the Balikatan exercises would finally be rolling in Basilan after the terms, which were forged on her initiative, were approved yesterday.

"We don’t even need a TOR. It is the first time that there will be a TOR because it is my policy... It is not a constitutional obligation nor is it an obligation of the law," the President said.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez told reporters that "technically, the terms of reference are not really necessary. But for the sake of transparency and history, we decided to pursue (the TOR)."

The President said she will soon transmit documents on the war games to congressmen, particularly members of the House foreign relations committee, who asked the Palace to inform them of developments although foreign policy matters are usually reserved for the Senate.

"The TOR will be sent to the congressmen as a matter of information," the President said.

The TOR itself was signed on Feb. 9 by Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and Rear Adm. William Sullivan of the US Pacific Command.

The TOR covers joint operations that could last up to six months and involve up to 660 US soldiers, including 160 Special Forces troops who may be deployed in combat zones in Basilan island, where the AFP has been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf group.

The Abu Sayyaf rebels, which operate in Basilan and the nearby Sulu islands, are still holding hostage American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

The 160 Special Forces soldiers are to be divided into five 12-man teams and would mainly be confined to battalion headquarters but may be allowed to go to company tactical headquarters to "observe and assess" military operations.

It would be the first time US soldiers would be allowed to "observe" local combat operations and the first time field training exercises are held in Mindanao.

But the TOR explicitly states that "US exercise participants shall not engage in combat" although they are allowed to fire back if attacked.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao, at a news briefing, stressed that that provision specifically addressed "imagined fears about alleged secret missions" to be conducted by US Special Forces.

"It plainly says that this is a training exercise. They are not here to engage in combat," Tiglao said.

With the signing of the TOR, Phase Two of the Balikatan exercises would commence in Basilan after US and Filipino troops conducted the "classroom training" Phase One in Zamboanga City.

Tiglao admitted that Washington had expressed impatience over the implementation of the exercises because of the cost of maintaining some 200 troops that had already arrived for Phase One.

He revealed that aside from the US soldiers’ pay and other facilities, the US will be spending some $7 million for the exercises.

The signing of TOR was held up by minor disagreements over command authority of US troops who are barred from taking orders from foreign commanders.

But the TOR stated that the exercises would be under the "authority" of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva but field commanders of both countries would retain "command" of their respective forces.

The Balikatan exercises are being held in compliance with the agreement Mrs. Arroyo forged with US President George W. Bush during her visit to the US in November last year.

Both leaders agreed the exercises would be consistent with their obligations under pertinent United Nations resolutions against global terrorism.

The two leaders also agreed to forge a security arrangement where the US would provide some $100 million in security assistance to the Philippines for 2001 and 2002.

The President earlier said that when she was in New York for the World Economic Forum last week, she again spoke with Bush on the telephone and Secretary of State Colin Powell in person regarding the war games.

Meanwhile, Fitts turned over to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina some $51,000 worth of equipment to the National Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating Center (DEP Center) in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

The donation, Fitts said, was meant to assist the DEP Center and the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC) in setting up a central database on drug trafficking.

The database would be patterned after the intelligence center of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in El Paso, Texas and would facilitate the exchange of information between Philippine and American drug enforcers, said police Director Miguel Coronel, DEP Center executive director.

Jeffrey Wendling of the US DEA said the database would serve a crucial role in the exchange of time-critical information for tactical operations. - With a report from Perseus Echeminada