Republic of the Philippines HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Quezon City FIFTEENTH CONGRESS First Regular Session HOUSE RESOLUTION No.

1242 ________________________________________________________________________ Introduced by Reps. TEDDY A. CASIO, NERI JAVIER COLMENARES, LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN, RAFAEL V. MARIANO, ANTONIO L. TINIO, EMMI A. DE JESUS and RAYMOND V. PALATINO ________________________________________________________________________ RESOLUTION STRONGLY OPPOSING THE RETURN OF U.S. TROOPS AND MILITARY FACILITIES IN CLARK OR SUBIC OR ANY PART OF THE COUNTRY UNDER THE PRETEXT OF THE VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT IN AFFIRMATION OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLES HISTORIC REJECTION OF THE RP-US MILITARY BASES AGREEMENT IN 1991 WHEREAS, in April 2011, US Senators Daniel Inouye and Thad Cochran met with with officials of the Philippine government led by Pres. Benigno Aquino II, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and local officials of Olongapo City and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authorities (SBMA) which raised the prospect of US troops and facilities return to Subic, Zambales nearly two decades after the Filipino people rejected a treaty extending the stay of US military bases in the Philippines; WHEREAS, the four-day visit was generally kept from the public eye except for the SBMA visit which found its way in a major broadsheet and prompted government confirmation. On April 26, the two US Senators met with SBMA officials and were given a tour of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga which was once the US Air Forces largest air base in the Asia-Pacific. Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president Victor Jose Luciano stated that the senators were in the Philippines to look into the transformation of [Clark and Subic] into productive civilian use; WHEREAS, prior to 1991, the US enjoyed sizeable control of an estimated 70,000 hectares covering the Subic Naval Base, Clark Air Base, and several other military bases throughout the country for 50 years; WHEREAS, the US recent move is widely seen as the US effort in searching for alternative places in the Asia-Pacific region to establish bases, in the face of growing opposition to their military bases in Okinawa, Japan where the US 7thPacific Fleet is based;

WHEREAS, earlier in March this year, US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. briefed local officials about the impact of the 9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on the transfer of US military bases from Okinawa to Guam; WHEREAS, on September 16, 1991 the Filipino people, through a historic vote in the Senate, rejected the renewal of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement which would have extended the US troops stay for another decade. Seven years later, in 1998, US troops found a backdoor entry into the country through the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which has practically allowed for the permanent presence of US troops in the country through its vague and general provisions that do not determine the number, duration of stay nor location of the troops in the country. Some years back, controversies on the issue of jurisdiction of erring US troops in the country also erupted following the rape of a Filipina by a US soldier; WHEREAS, to illustrate, the VFA has legitimized the stay of some 600 US troops under the Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF-Philippines) in Camp General Navarro, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City which serves both as a jumping board for US forward deployment in the Asia-Pacific region in the face of continuing Chinese threat and as a tool for counterinsurgency operations; WHEREAS, apart from the VFA, the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) has also been in place which allows US forces to use civilian and military facilities such as Clark and Subic. Both the VFA and MLSA have been rendered as mere agreements as a way to skirt the Constitutional ban on the entry of US troops and facilities in the country except under a treaty ratified by the Senate; WHEREAS, reports of possible US troops return have likewise prompted concerns over the revival of red light districts and flesh trade which exploit women and reduce them into mere R and R (rest and recreation) of US troops; WHEREAS, heightened US military intervention through the return of US troops and facilities in any part of the country through the Aquino government must be firmly opposed as a matter of upholding national sovereignty and integrity; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the House of Representatives strongly oppose the return of U.S. troops and military facilities in Clark or Subic or any part of the country under the pretext of the Visiting Forces Agreement in affirmation of the Filipino peoples historic rejection of the RP-US military bases agreement in 1991. Adopted,

TEDDY A. CASIO Bayan Muna Party-list

NERI JAVIER COLMENARES Bayan Muna Party-list

LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN Gabriela Womens Party

RAFAEL V. MARIANO Anakpawis Party-list

ANTONIO L. TINIO ACT Teachers Party-list

EMMI A. DE JESUS Gabriela Womens Party

RAYMOND V. PALATINO Kabataan Party-list