America on Phl's side

It should be a consolation to Filipinos that the United States Senate’s approval of a resolution deploring the use of force by China in the South China Sea, has been affirmed with the US.

House of Representatives’ introduction last Friday of a resolution supporting the Philippine position of a peaceful multilateral and rules-based settlement of the Philippine Sea dispute in accordance with international law.

The House resolution was welcomed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who said the Philippines “strongly believes that a rules-based approach provides the key to validating our claims and advancing the peaceful and fair settlement of the dispute in the West Philippine Sea.”

A provision in the resolution mentioned that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Secretary Del Rosario during his visit in the State Department that the US government “is determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines.”

It also mentioned that the Philippines, although a small country, “is prepared to do what is necessary to stand up to any aggressive action in our backyard.”

China has rejected Manila’s suggestion that the Philippines and China elevate their dispute in the West Philippine Sea to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and expressed that the dispute should be resolved “through negotiations between directly concerned countries.”

That the US means business in coming to the defense of the Philippines may have been displayed by the recent visits of commanders of the US Pacific Air Forces and the US Seventh Fleet. But both commanders denied that their presence was meant to show off US air and navy combat-readiness if the dispute in the Spratlys flared up.

At a dinner hosted by American Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas, Gen. Gary L. North, commander of the US Pacific Air Forces (FACAP), said he was in the Philippines to give Philippine Air Force (PAF) officials a security assessment on the situation in the Spratlys. But he said that America strongly supports the Philippines based on the Mutual Defense Treaty.

The US government is closely monitoring how brewing tensions are developing among countries claiming territorial sovereignty over the Spratlys but also developments involving civilian, commerce, industry activities and transnational crimes such as piracy, human trafficking, and illicit fishing, North said.

On the other hand, Vice Admiral Scott R. Van Buskirk, commander of the US 7th Fleet, was in Puerto Princesa, Palawan for the opening ceremonies of the 11-day 17th Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises. Previous CARAT exercises had been held in Puerto Princesa in 2008; Cebu in 2009, and Subic Bay in 2010. The choice of Puerto Princesa again for the 17th CARAT had been planned long before the recent Spratly dispute began brewing, said Admiral Van Buskirk.

Guided missile destroyers and diving and salvage ships were used in developing maritime security capabilities, information sharing, and combined operations at sea, patrol operations and gunnery exercises, plus anti-piracy and anti-smuggling exercises. Ashore training included such specialties as visit, board, search and seizure exercises, symposia on search and rescue practices, and disaster relief missions.

Hailing the long relationship between the US and Philippines, Adm. Buskirk told this columnist his leadership “would like to see a peaceful resolution of all disputes in the area. We don’t take sides in some of the territorial disputes, but our leadership has spoken recently that we will focus not on aggression, but on a diplomatic resolution, notably in the Spratlys.”

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The guessing game on the three Cabinet secretaries who are said to be giving P-Noy a headache continues. One name that is being floated is Presidential Political Adviser Ronald Llamas.

Who could have floated Llamas’ name? There are two guesses - a group in Malacañang, which is said to be enjoying playing the guessing game, or the strong democratic Left in the administration to which Llamas belongs. Llamas is a co-founder and served as first president of the party list group Akbayan.

Why would the Left float Llamas’ name? Or, is it doing this as a “preemptive” strike? One will recall that a number of progressive members of the Left who wanted to work within the democratic framework after the 1986 People Power revolution and joined the Cory Administration, were later eased out — believed to be victims of the machinations of the right-of-center. Case in point was the late Labor Secretary Bobby Sanchez. 

But Llamas is likely not to be one of the three with a Damocles sword hanging over their heads. “Llamas is a key influential figure in P-Noy’s government,” my source says.

As presidential adviser on political affairs, Llamas serves as a strategist and coordinates with political parties on the various policies and programs of the administration.

A commentator said Llamas’ appointment “attests to the government’s pluralist and democratic character of governing,” and showed that President Aquino “can actively go beyond partisan ideological politics and extend its hand of solidarity to forces of change.”

A source close to the President says Llamas was the choice because he’s “acceptable” to the two dominant factions in the Aquino government, the so-called Samar and Balay groups.

Llamas’ influence is confirmed by major moves of the administration over the past weeks.

 The impeachment of Merceditas Gutierrez as Ombudsman is reported to be a Llamas-Akbayan brainchild. Llamas was behind the filing of the impeachment complaint by Danny Lim and Risa Hontiveros to the OMG (Oust Merci Gutierrez) civil society movement and even the 200-plus impeachment votes garnered in the House.

Another major accomplishment was his getting Congress’ approval for the President’s signature of next year’s budget of P1.8 trillion.

Then Llamas is said to have led the initiative – although he stayed in the background – to have the President agree to the ARMM poll postponement, and synchronize the ARMM election with the national and local elections to save money for the government.

His most important assignment, and this is to be tested yet, is his critical role  in the cases being filed and to be filed against former President and current Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her family.

Prior to his appointment as political adviser, Llamas was appointed member of the board of directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines.

Llamas is a 1982 graduate, journalism major, of the University of Santo Tomas. He was an activist, anti-Marcos campus newspaper editor, and later helped organized labor unions, urban poor communities, peasant groups, and other basic sector organizations.

In 1998, the democratic left Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party was formally established. That year Akbayan won one seat in the House of Representatives, in 2004, three seats occupied by Etta Rosales, Risa Hontiveros and Mayong Aguja, and currently, its two representatives are Walden Bello and Arlene “Kaka” Bagao. Given his ideological conviction, Llamas may have wanted

the President to give the Luisita hacienda to the farmers, but as it turns out, the President is not touching the issue.

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My e-mail: [email protected]