In the Navy

The American Embassy in Manila lost no time to immediately buckle down to work as soon as US President Barack Obama signed into law last week the $787-billion “economic stimulus” package that the US Congress has approved. This law, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” also included the $198-million one-time compensation package for Filipino World War II veterans. I watched on TV how Ambassador Kristie Kenney personally attended to the first batch of sickly and ageing Pinoy WW II veterans who trooped the next day to register at the US Embassy in Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

The Ambassador announced they will make it easier for the recipients here to get their lump sum compensation as duly registered Pinoy vets who fought side by side with their American counterparts during WW II in the Philippines. She is sending out officials from the US Embassy Veterans’ Office to provinces where there are concentrations of our remaining number of living WW II vets, many of whom are now in their 80s. This way, many of these ailing WW II vets won’t have to come to Manila.

To her credit, the US Ambassador has put a human face to their Embassy which from the outside looks like a formidable fortress that has bomb-proofed gates. With several layers of Manila policemen and white uniformed security guards outside, and American Marines posted inside the Embassy premises, the US Embassy is the most tightly-guarded and well-protected facility in this part of the city of Manila. But the sight of fortress-like structures and tight security could not detract from the warmth of kindness and gracious presence of Kenney. She went out to talk and extend her helping hand to address the needs of Pinoy WW II vets, some of whom came on wheelchairs and hand-held oxygen tanks.

While giving her personal attention to them, she hosted a welcome reception for the visiting American warship, the USS Blue Ridge that came here at the height last week of the rekindled irritants over the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The heated debate over the VFA erupted anew following the Supreme Court ruling against the continued detention at the US Embassy of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith after his lower court conviction on rape charges in December 2006. 

Amid the bitter debate among politicians and cause-oriented groups to review, or to even abrogate the VFA, the Philippine government defended the need to maintain this pact with the US. In an official statement the other day by the Department of Foreign Affairs, it recited the gains and benefits of the VFA in support of a “strong Republic” for our country.

Armed with her own charming diplomatese, Ambassador Kenney provides the calming voice over the agitations anew against the VFA in relation to Smith’s rape case. Amid these arguments, the American Ambassador was in her usual generous self in acknowledging the significance of the continuing long-standing friendship and close alliance of the US and the Philippines in this part of the world.

During the cocktail reception for the officers and men of the USS Blue Ridge, she fondly mentioned the presence of her invited special guest on board, retired Col. Rafael Estrada, founder and chairman of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Inc. Kenney described him as among the living proofs of such friendship and alliance that have weathered trials and challenges to the ties that bind the two countries through these years. The Command Ship of the US 7th Fleet, the USS Blue Ridge arrived here on a “routine port call and goodwill visit” and docked at Pier 13 until Feb. 22.

Speaking of ships, naval assets of our own Philippine Navy would be getting additional boost with the scheduled re-commissioning of the erstwhile presidential yacht BRP Ang Pangulo. It underwent refurbishment in Zamboanga and is set to be re-commissioned into service on March 6. However, it would henceforth be known under a new name, BRP Ang Pag-asa, or in English, “The Hope.”

No less than President Arroyo is invited for the traditional re-commissioning rites to be held here in Manila South Harbor port. This I learned from Philippine Navy official spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo. The Commander-in-Chief has given up the presidential yacht for use of the Philippine Navy. The former presidential yacht has its share of dark days in our country’s history that included the lavish parties hosted by the Marcoses during their regime.

When she took over the Palace, former President Corazon C. Aquino turned the yacht into a support vessel that transported troopers from the Presidential Security Group (PSG) to her provincial sorties. Her successors, former Presidents Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph Estrada did the same thing. It would go back to the sea under the stewardship now of the Philippine Navy headed by Vice Admiral Ferdinand Golez.

While also at the USS Blue Ridge reception, I bumped into retired former Navy Chief Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga who is now chairman and chief executive officer of Glenn Defense Marine Asia Phils. Inc. Now working in the private sector, Mayuga disclosed his Singapore-based company won the service contract that provided the outer perimeter security and other arrangements for the port call of the USS Blue Ridge.

He tells me he has at least more than 20 shipping vessels and his company helps give hundreds of jobs to Filipino seamen and other workers providing services here and around South East Asian countries. So I teased him that he has more ships now than when he was the Navy chief.

Mayuga was the Philippine Navy flag-officer-in-command until December 2006 when he headed the AFP fact-finding body that investigated the alleged involvement of so-called “Hello, Garci” generals who supposedly helped rig the May 2004 presidential elections in favor of Mrs. Arroyo. He retired from the AFP without making public the contents of his “Mayuga Report” that cleared the implicated Generals due to lack of evidence.

More than two years since his retirement, the ghost of “Garci”, though, has not left him in peace. Like the rest of us Filipinos, the “Garci” electoral fraud casts foreboding dark shadows over the next presidential elections coming just 15 months away.