Palace: US remains ‘big brother’ to RP

The Philippines still looks up to the United States as its "big brother" on security issues despite Manila’s decision to pull its humanitarian contingent out of Iraq to save the life of a hostage, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the Philippines was confident that its relations with the US would survive the hostage crisis, despite Washington’s criticism that it has capitulated to terrorists.

"We consider the US as our big brother in the security arena," Bunye said. "We will maintain our stand against terrorism in the face of this isolated event."

The US could cut aid to the Philippines after Manila caved in to Iraqi militants to save a hostage, but Washington cannot afford to completely abandon the Southeast Asian nation in its fight against terror, analysts said.

President Arroyo this week pulled out the Philippines’ 51-man contingent serving with US-led occupation forces in Iraq in a bid to free 46-year-old truck driver Angelo de la Cruz after the militants threatened to behead him unless the withdrawal was made.

De la Cruz was released by the militants in Baghdad on Tuesday after the last of the Philippine contingent left Iraq for Kuwait a day earlier.

Mrs. Arroyo said she did not regret the decision amid mounting domestic pressure just weeks after taking oath for a fresh six-year mandate following hotly contested polls in May.

The decision had angered the US, the Philippines’ biggest trading partner which last year named the country a major "non-NATO ally" that would have priority access to military aid.

Other allies have also warned the hostage deal could only endanger other foreigners in Iraq.

University of the Philippines professor and political analyst Benito Lim said the President’s decision to pull out the small Philippine contingent in Iraq strained her relationship with US President George W. Bush, though he added that "the strain is not serious. Her decision was for national interest and survival."

Whatever strain Mrs. Arroyo’s decision may have inflicted upon her relationship with Bush, "there’s still the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and plans of (joint) military exercises" which will continue, Lim said. "The US needs our soil for these exercises."

However, while the strain in bilateral relations may not show in the military and defense aspect of the RP-US relationship, it may be seen if the Bush administration will downgrade the Philippines when it borrows from foreign creditors, like the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — transactions which require the goodwill of the US president.

Mrs. Arroyo’s decision has earned her the respect of her countrymen because she "stood up for Filipinos," Lim said. "I think they (the US and other foreign governments) will say we can’t be taken for granted, at the very least, and they’ll listen to us."

The President’s actions to save De la Cruz have "partially neutralized" growing dissent and protests over allegations of massive electoral fraud, Lim said.

"Essentially, it will have an impact on the relationship of the two countries," warned Benvenuto Icamina of Manila-based Wallace Business Forum, a think tank that dispenses advice to multinational firms and works closely with foreign embassies.

"This would make the Philippines less of a priority as far as providing economic aid is concerned," he told Agence France Presse.

"The immediate impact would probably be in trade concessions, for example, in market access and others," he said.

Bush, however, would be making a mistake if he completely dropped support for the Philippines, Icamina said.

Manila has been among its staunchest Asian allies in its global war on terrorism, and Arroyo is also fighting local militants linked to the al-Qaeda terror network in its volatile southern island of Mindanao.

If left unchecked and with less US aid, the Philippines risked being a next major haven for terrorists that could also pose danger to US interest in the region, security analysts have warned.

Already, US officials have repeatedly expressed their concern about terrorist training camps allegedly run by the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), said to be a Southeast Asian proxy of al-Qaeda, on Mindanao.

"We will be the weakest link in the fight against terrorism, and the US cannot leave it at that," Icamina said. "We are vulnerable to becoming a haven of terrorists as far as Mindanao is concerned."

He said the Philippines could still expect continued military aid.

People familiar with how the Arroyo administration handled the hostage crisis also acknowledged bilateral ties could be frayed.

At this stage, they said it would be important for Arroyo to assure Washington her government remains committed to the anti-terror fight.

Icamina also said the controversy was unlikely to dampen interest of multinational companies, including US firms, in the Philippines.

He said the public’s reaction appears to be "split" with some against Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to pull out the troops and with others saying it was right to save De la Cruz.

"But I suppose, it may have also been timed to gain political points," he said, noting that the President was to give her annual state of the nation address before Congress on Monday.

US special forces are due to start training exercises with Filipino soldiers in Mindanao next week. At least 160 Filipino soldiers will train over three weeks with 25 US army Green Berets at a jungle base in the heartland of Muslim separatist rebels.

Separate battalion-level exercises began early this month in another part of Mindanao and will go on until December, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said. — Pia Lee-Brago, AFP