RP, US okay more spy plane overflights

LOS CABOS, Mexico (via PLDT) — Manila and Washington have "pretty much" agreed on additional flights of US spy planes over Philippine territory, President Arroyo announced here yesterday.

Amid criticism of the supposed intelligence failures of Philippine security agencies, the President made the announcement after her "four eyes" meeting with US President George W. Bush at the Fiesta Americana Hotel during the 10th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting.

"Basically, our one-on-one was on terrorism," the President said. "He did not ask me for anything. He just said that he appreciated and admires my courage and my consistent position against terrorism."

She said she did not take up the restoration of the $30 million that Bush had earlier committed to the Philippines but was cut from the US government’s military assistance budget during their deliberation process.

But Mrs. Arroyo expressed confidence that the funds would be restored.

"I didn’t bring it up but he (Bush) said he had already been told by his aides of some of the things I want and he’s working on it. So I’m sure he was also referring to (the $30 million)," she said.

"I know that’s gonna come back. I know that already from the operations people talking to each other," she added.

Although Mrs. Arroyo declined to elaborate on what was discussed during her talks with Bush, she said Armed Forces of the Philippines plans and programs chief Commodore Ernesto de Leon was left in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday to discuss operational matters with officials of the US Pacific Command.

"That’s the reason I brought Commodore De Leon to Hawaii with me. I left him for two more days so he can talk (with) his counterparts in CINCPAC (office of the commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Command)," she said.

She said the US CINCPAC, Adm. Thomas Fargo, conveyed the offer for the additional spy-plane flights when he called on her at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel during a one-day stopover in Honolulu on the way here.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, who was present at that meeting with the President, De Leon and Ambassador to the US Alberto del Rosario, said Fargo noted the need for additional overflights of spy-planes and satellites to improve Manila’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.

In response, De Leon said improved intelligence-gathering should be complemented with the delivery of the next batch of C-130 cargo planes and "protective armor" for ground troops earlier committed by the US.

The US committed the planes and the bullet-proof vests during Mrs. Arroyo first official visit to the US, shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks on Washington DC and New York.

That visit also resulted in the joint RP-US "Balikatan 02-1" military exercises in Western Mindanao, where the US first used spy-planes to rescue an American missionary couple and a Filipina nurse who were being held by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan.

The use of the spy planes was instrumental in the rescue of Gracia Burnham from the hands of Abu Sayyaf leader Aldam Tilao but her husband Martin and the Filipina nurse, Edibora Yap, were slain in the operation. Tilao was also killed by the military in a later encounter.

Burnham’s rescue and the killing of Tilao were supposedly conducted with the use of P3C "Orion" spy-plane, a land-based, long-range anti-submarine warfare plane fitted with sophisticated computers and weapons systems.

The aircraft has been in use by the US military since 1962 but has been continually updated and is now used for both anti-submarine and land warfare. The P3C Orion was also used in the anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan.

The US repeatedly denied that the P3C Orion was used in the "Balikatan" exercises but local military officials said Philippine troops were exposed to remote command-and-control and real-time intelligence feedback during the war games.