AMERICAN TROOPS COULD STAY ON FOR NEW GAMES, SAYS GMA: Joint RP-US anti-terrorism
exercises could continue even after Balikatan 02-01 ends in July, President
Macapagal-Arroyo said yesterday.
In an interview, the Chief Executive said the issue had been discussed briefly
during her telephone conversation Friday with US President George W. Bush,
following the rescue of Gracia Burnham and the death of her husband, Martin,
and nurse Deborah Yap in Zamboanga del Norte.
President Macapagal-Arroyo had vowed to continue the campaign to destroy the
Abu Sayyaf, which has conducted kidnapping for ransom and other terrorist
activities for more than a decade now. Bush pledged to provide US financial
and technical aid for the Philippine effort.
She also pointed out that the ongoing military exercise, which ends on July 31,
still has room for improvement. US soldiers, Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo pointed out,
could join local counterparts on the company level, as allowed by the Terms of
Agreement.
The President said her government is not discounting a new Balikatan after
July 31. This, she stressed, is permitted under the Vi-siting Forces Agreement.
Manila Times, 10 June 2002
SEABEES WON’T STAY IN BASILAN BEYOND JULY 15, SAYS US ENVOY: The United
States will not ask for an extension of its military presence in the Philippines
beyond the ongoing six-month joint military training exercise on Basilan island,
US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said yesterday.
Ricciardone held it likely, however, that the 340-member US navy engineering team
called Seabees may stay behind to pursue civic action projects or engage in
non-combat activities meant to curb terrorism.
He pointed out that the two countries may indulge in other areas of bilateral
cooperation. "There may be other things we’ll want to do together afterwards.
We’ve got a Visiting Forces Agreement. If there are things we want to do together,
we’ll do that," the envoy said.
He expressed optimism that the civic action projects in Basilan such as
construction of roads, bridges and artesian wells would be completed within
the 60-day deadline, which falls on July 15.
He also noted that the Arroyo administration was satisfied with the progress
of the joint military training exercise where 160 elite US Special Forces are
advising their Filipino counterparts in counterterrorism operations.
Vice President and concurrent Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr.
has objected to a proposal of the Philippine military to extend the stay of the
US engineering team in Basilan.
Meanwhile, Philippine officials said any attempt to rescue American missionary
couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap would be a purely
Philippine operation.
Philippine Star, 17 May 2002
NO EXTENDED STAY FOR US MILITARY ENGINEERS: US military engineers, working
side by side with a joint anti-terror mission in the southern Philippines, are
likely to end their mission in July, a Filipino official said yesterday,
downplaying suggestions they could stay on.
"The engineering projects can still be finished on time if the monsoon season
will not come yet and the problem with construction materials is solved," Brig.
Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio told reporters.
Teodosio had suggested on Sunday the US engineers may have to stay behind if
the road and other infrastructure projects are not completed by the end of July,
the deadline for the joint anti-terror operation involving some 1,000 US troops.
Some 340 US military engineers are working on infrastructure projects in the
southern island of Basilan which are intended to boost operations against the
Abu Sayyaf, a local Muslim kidnapping group linked to the al-Qaeda network of
suspected terror mastermind, Osama bin Laden.
However, shortages of construction materials have hampered the completion of the
projects.
The rainy season in the Philippines starts in June and the downpours hamper road
building and other construction projects.
Teodosio stressed that even if the Americans extend their stay "the US will not
stay a day longer than necessary."
Philippine Star, 15 May 2002
BALIKATAN 02-2 ENDS; CRASH VICTIM DIES: A victim of the F-5 fighter jet crash
in Mabalacat, Pampanga, died Sunday of cardiac arrest at the V. Luna hospital
in Quezon City, a day before the Balikatan 02-2 was to end.
Lt. Col. Jose Mabanta, Armed Forces public information chief, said the victim,
Jesus Rivera, died at 11 a.m. Sunday while undergoing treatment.
Rivera was one of three residents who suffered third-degree burns when the F-5
jet hit the Mabalacat Elementary School in Barangay Poblacion where he and two
others were working. The jet exploded in mid-air on Friday.
At least 11 persons were reported injured in that crash, including Rivera.
The fighter jet’s pilot, Capt. Daniel Policarpio, was killed in that May 2 accident,
while several others were wounded.
The crash was the second accident involving Philippine Air Force assets. An MG-520
helicopter earlier crashed while trying to land.
Despite the accidents, the joint military exercise was described as "successful"
in some aspects.
The Balikatan 02-2 ends Monday with ceremonies at the Clark Field Officers’ Club.
In Calamba City, however, some 400 people Sunday joined a caravan Sunday by the
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Tagalog and the Movement for the Advancement
of Nationalism to oppose the joint RP-US Military Exercises in Ternate.
The activity aimed to "vehemently condemn the puppetry of President Macapagal-Arroyo
to the US imperialist and big local and foreign capitalists."
The group assailed the alleged continuing militarization in Southern Tagalog and
the entry of the US troops.
Philippines Daily Inquirer, 6 May 2002
