Partnership or Subservience? Reassessing Philippine-U.S. Military Relations

Partnership or Subservience? Reassessing Philippine-U.S. Military Relations
(A Public Forum)

September 12, 2011, 9:00am-12:00nn
Claro M. Recto Hall, Faculty Center, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Quezon City

PROGRAM:

8:30-9:00
REGISTRATION

9:00-9:05
WELCOME REMARKS
Maria Ela L. Atienza
Director
Third World Studies Center
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman

9:05-9:10
INTRODUCTION OF THE SPEAKERS

9:10-9:35
Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III
Representative
4th District of Quezon
15th Congress
Republic of the Philippines

9:35-10:00
Atty. Evalyn Ursua
Professorial Lecturer
College of Law
University of the Philippines-Diliman

10:00-10:15
REACTOR 1
Eduardo C. Tadem
Professor
Asian Center
University of the Philippines-Diliman

10:15-10:30
REACTOR 2
Yuen Abana
Campaign Officer
Partido ng Manggagawa

10:30-11:40
OPEN FORUM

11:40-11:50

SYNTHESIS
Virginia Suarez-Pinlac
Spokesperson
Scrap VFA Movement

11:50-12:00
CLOSING REMARKS
Francisco Nemenzo, Jr.
Professor Emeritus
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman

MODERATOR

Ronald C. Molmisa
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines-Diliman

ABOUT THE FORUM:

The public forum serves as a lead up to a commemorative event on September 16, 2011, the 20th anniversary of the Philippine Senate’s vote to end U.S. military bases presence in our country. The Filipino people’s victory in its struggle to close and dismantle the U.S. bases in 1991 was one shining and glorious moment in our history. It demonstrated how our united will could move the Philippine Senate, which had long been dominated by pro-bases senators, into asserting national sovereignty.

More than ten years of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which supplanted the U.S. Military Bases Agreement in 1998, is sufficient time to review how this later agreement has affected issues of national sovereignty and security, and the life of our people. After a series of public hearings on the VFA, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the previous Congress came out with its report, and forthwith its chair, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, authored Senate Resolution No. 1356, calling for a review of the VFA, which was approved by the Senate in 2009. Resolutions which demanded the termination of the VFA were also filed in the current Congress by Senator Santiago in the Senate (Sen. Res. No. 3), and by Representative Lorenzo R. Tañada III in the House of Representatives (House Res. No. 17).

The P-Noy Administration’s response in the later part of 2010 was to initiate a review of the VFA to be headed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, justifying that termination may be too radical. Nothing has been heard of the status or results of the review. High-ranking U.S. political and military officials have come and gone, during which the VFA must have been taken up, yet the P-Noy Administration continues to be mum about the matter.

All are invited to attend this vital public discussion on American interests and Philippine sovereignty.

Co-organized by the UP Third World Studies Center, the UP Diliman Department of Political Science, and the Scrap VFA Movement. 

Here is a link to Rep. Erin Tañada's paper read in the public forum. 

Also, here is a playlist of the video recordings of the public forum:

News about the forum: "Scrap VFA, urges son of 'Magnificent 12' senator"