Senators to back MLSA if it complies with Charter

Sen. Gregorio Honasan has assured President Arroyo that he and his colleagues will support the proposed RP-US Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) if it will not contain provisions that will violate the Constitution.

"If we don’t see controversial provisions that are prohibited by the Philippine Constitution such as the stockpiling of nuclear weapons or the setting up of a permanent US military base in the country, the MLSA will have a smooth sailing in the Senate," Honasan said.

He urged Mrs. Arroyo to submit the final MLSA draft signed by the US and Philippine governments so that the Senate would be able to ascertain if the proposed agreement needs to undergo the Senate ratification process.

"For all intents and purposes, the MLSA is a strategic bilateral pact that may require some form of Senate approval as mandated by the Philippine Constitution," added Honasan.

He said popular support to the proposed MLSA is based on the belief that it will accelerate the modernization of the weapons and equipment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to tackle any serious threat to the country’s democracy.

Honasan cited the benefit of direct American assistance in the recent Balikatan exercise which had a positive impact on the government’s aggressive campaign against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group.

"The biggest threat to our national security is global terrorism and it is my belief that we need to support the international campaign spearheaded by the US," Honasan said on the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in the US last year.

Earlier, Honasan expressed full support to the administration’s all-out war policy against terrorist groups and criminal syndicates seeking to convert the Philippines into a haven for their nefarious activities.

"We cannot allow terrorist groups and criminal syndicates to operate with impunity in the country as this will jeopardize our socio-economic development efforts," Honasan said.