Paying for our ‘pwede na’ attitude

All the hue and cry surrounding the controversies regarding the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) are all moot and academic, simply because we signed the VFA, approved and ratified by the Senate during the time of Joseph Estrada. To demand for a review while the case of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith is ongoing is just like changing the rules in the middle of the game just because we don’t like how the game is going.

When the VFA was being negotiated in 1998 – and we were in fact helping out US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard – I remember there were so many questions regarding the provisions on criminal jurisdiction for US personnel who would commit offenses during their stay in the country. From the very start, former vice president Teofisto Guingona who was a senator then has always been adamantly against the VFA. He wanted to make sure the provisions under the treaty did not infringe on the sovereignty of the Philippines, and that the question of custody regarding erring military personnel be settled clearly. Perhaps because he foresaw potential problems like the case involving Smith now, he wanted stricter rules that would confine the American soldiers within the designated camps for the duration of the exercises.

In the past, there were many reported cases of violations regarding American soldiers when we still had the Bases agreement. In the early ’60s, a boy was shot in the back by a soldier stationed at the Clark Airfield, while a fisherman was killed at Subic Naval base. Sometime in the late ’60s or early ’70s, a soldier who went hunting with his service firearm accidentally shot an employee at the base. All these incidents triggered a series of demonstrations, and it even generated a Nora Aunor flick with her famous line that goes: "My brother is not a pig!" During those times, the erring US personnel were simply shipped out of the country. Then we decided to remove the bases in 1992, but when the VFA was being negotiated, we should have learned from all those past incidents.

All these anti-American and leftist groups can keep on vilifying and accusing the United States of a lot of nasty things like bullying and call every American ugly, but the fact is when you sign something, it signifies agreement – and you just have to comply with it. The reality is our senators, during the time of Erap and with Senator Franklin Drilon pushing hard – approved the treaty. We signed on the dotted line, and that’s it.

That’s what happens when we simply say "yes" to something, going for that "pwede na" mentality that so often afflicts Filipinos. That’s why nationalists like Tito Guingona should be listened to. After all, he is also a lawyer and he immediately saw the ambiguous provisions regarding custody that would later on become the bone of contention, and he was right. They say the test of the pudding is in the eating, but in this case, we have to eat our pride and abide by the rules of the VFA because we agreed and signed it.

All these people can rage and cry out treason and betrayal, but who do we blame? If anything, what we have to do now more than ever is to make sure that before we get into any kind of international treaty or accord, we have to make sure that we read the fine print and the terms and their implications are clear to us. The old Filipino way of saying "pwede na yan" or the "okay na" attitude just won’t cut it.

Unfortunately, our ties with the United States run so deep in terms of trade – they’re still our number one trading partner – and our military hardware are all made in the US and our dependency on military aid is limitless. We also have the Mutual Defense Treaty which is absolutely important for the country knowing fully well we do not have the wherewithal to defend ourselves in case of an invasion from another country. That’s the reality of life, and so an issue like Smith is something that we should not take subjectively and emotionally, but to look at it from a total perspective. GMA was definitely not being reckless or stupid to allow the transfer of the American soldier back into American custody without making sure of the legal implications. We’re told she checked this out with her own private lawyers before she approved the transfer of Smith from the Makati City jail to the US Embassy. There were questions why it was done late at night, but then again, that is an executive prerogative. But the fact is, it was done so to avoid another media circus like what happened when Smith was being brought to the Makati City jail, plus, there were major concerns about the security for this young man.

We all have a lot of American friends, but I have always believed that we should think first of what is good for our country before we get into any kind of agreement with any country for that matter. Given the situation we are in today, what is best for the country now is to honor what we signed, because the repercussions will be far greater than just a strain in our relationship with the United States. The implications would be more widespread, and no nation will ever trust us.

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We are hoping the ASEAN and East Asia summits scheduled this coming week will be successful. This is a major international event and there will be a lot of common concerns to be addressed. It’s good to know a lot of leaders have confirmed attendance in spite of the fact that the original schedule was suddenly postponed. The ASEAN Summit is another clear case where, if we ever come into an agreement, we have to make sure that we are ready to accept and comply with the terms, especially regarding free trade issues that will surely be discussed. This is a global world and we have to start thinking globally, not locally. The reality today is that for us to survive in this cruel world, we have to be ready to forge alliances and strategic partnerships with as many nations as possible.

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