Send US troops to Ayungin, Scarborough – Saguisag

Ayee Macaraig

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Send US troops to Ayungin, Scarborough – Saguisag
'The US can put itself where its mouth is by even agreeing to discuss that possibility,' says the former senator, who voted in 1991 not to renew the military bases agreement

MANILA, Philippines – A former senator has an unconventional proposal to test the United States’ commitment to the Philippines – send American troops to Ayungin and Scarborough Shoals, where Chinese ships have harassed Filipinos several times.

Former Senator Rene Saguisag made the suggestion, saying it would show whether or not US President Barack Obama would make good on his pronouncements of an “ironclad commitment” to defend the Philippines.

In an interview on #TalkThursday, Saguisag told Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa that putting American forces in the Philippines’ disputed territories with China would “send a message.”

“The statements of Obama were provocative enough. So one can read into it any message he wants. So here, you want presence? Okay. So we’re offering you what we long believed is our territory,” Saguisag said on Thursday, May 1.

Watch the interview here: 

Saguisag was referring to the Philippines’ newly signed military agreement with the US that gives American forces greater access to Philippine bases, and allows them to construct facilities there for free.

He said had he been a sitting senator, he would have raised his proposal with the Philippine negotiating panel. He admitted the idea was unusual.

“It may be far out of the box, but the US can put itself where its mouth is by even agreeing to discuss that possibility. Why not basing rights in Ayungin and Scarborough because that can be developed by them faster than we [can]?” he said.

“Because when I saw the TV footage showing our soldiers went to [Ayungin], I thought the Chinese might have left because they were afraid to incur tetanus! We really need modern equipment,” he said in jest.

Ayungin and Scarborough Shoals are two of the territories the Philippines and China are both claiming in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

A rusty Navy ship called BRP Sierra Madre is grounded in Ayungin, serving as a naval detachment of the Philippine Marines and a symbol of Manila’s claim on the shoal.

SC should rule vs ‘faulty process’

Saguisag, 74, was part of the so-called Magnificent 12, the senators who voted in 1991 not to renew the treaty that allowed the US to keep bases in the Philippines. He has since criticized the lack of transparency behind the crafting of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

A prominent human rights lawyer during martial law, Saguisag said he supports moves to question the process of entering into the deal before the Supreme Court. He said the executive branch treated the public “like children.”

Saguisag pointed out that even he did not get a copy of the deal when he attended the state dinner in Malacañang in Obama’s honor on Monday. The Palace only released a copy on Tuesday, a day after it was signed.

“The procedure was very faulty. When you decide something that will affect 100 million Filipinos, it cannot be only limited to the children of God in Malacañang. It will affect my grandchildren,” he said.

“I want a clear ruling whether this kind of agreement can be entered in the dead of night without telling the people what our children and grandchildren will get into.”

Citing the Constitution, Saguisag said the Senate should have a say in the deal.

“We don’t even know who [the negotiators] are. Who elected them? For legitimacy and for acceptability, it’s better to involve as many elected people as possible. The institutional arrangement is that it impacts on foreign relations where we are supposed to speak with a single voice. At least consult the elected elders in another branch,” he said.

Still, he said he knew what was preventing the Senate from playing its traditional role of being an independent chamber of Congress: the pork barrel scam.

“Kaya hindi makasipa gaano ang Senado, no credibility eh. Parang anything coming from them devalued eh. Kung wala ang pork barrel, I think they would have united and really been more forceful. Ngayon, can you see Jinggoy or Bongbong or even Manong Johnny taking a position? Mga isip ng tao: pork barrel explanation is what we need.”

(The Senate cannot protest so much because it has no credibility. It seems anything coming from them is devalued. Now, can you see Jinggoy or Bongbong or even Manong Johnny taking a position? People will think: what we need is an explanation on the pork barrel scam.)

Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile face plunder charges over the worst corruption scandal in recent history, while Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr has also been implicated.

A legal luminary and former Senate President, Enrile has kept his silence on all national issues since the scam broke out. He too was part of the Magnificent 12.

“’Yung mga bago naman, people we like doon, sina Grace Poe, etc, they’re so new. Iba ‘pag ang nagsalita si Tito Guingona or even Manong Johnny, may gravitas dahil beterano. Pero sa ngayon, anything Manong says today, ay ‘Ayusin mo muna si Mrs Enrile.’ Dumating pa si Gigi. Iyon ang hulaan, mag-iipitan ba sila? ‘Yun ang naiisip ng tao sa halip na itong EDCA,” Saguisag said.  

(As for neophyte senators that we like there like Grace Poe, they’re so new. It’s different when the person speaking is Tito Guingona or even Manong Johnny who have gravitas as veterans. But now, anything Manong says, people will say, ‘Fix problems with Mrs Enrile first. Gigi even returned and people are guessing if they will implicate one another in the scam.)

‘We voted on right side of history’

Despite questioning the process, Saguisag clarified that he is not against the deal, at least until he gets to read its full text. He only got a copy on Thursday.  

He admits much has changed in the world since the historic 1991 Senate vote.

“I have always agreed with Lord Palmerston that no country has any permanent friend or enemies, only permanent interests,” Saguisag said. “I’m open to dealing or negotiating with anybody. Unlike previous treaties when there was tremendous American influence and today, really, many people have changed their minds after 9/11. We cannot really deal with Talibanic, fundamentalist threats.”  

On China, he joked, “I don’t want any trouble unnecessarily with a country with more than 1.3 billion people. If they jumped on one foot at the same time, there’ll be a tsunami!”

Yet looking back, Saguisag does not regret voting to close the American bases.

He recalled that it was a difficult decision, with polls in favor of the bases and then President Corazon Aquino even calling him and former Senator Agapito “Butz” Aquino to Malacañang to ask for their votes. Aquino was Cory’s brother-in-law while Saguisag acted as her spokesman. 

“Butz and I told her, please ask another. Because after more than 400 years under Spain, Britain, Spain again, US, and Japan, it’s really time to fly and spread our own wings. That was tough because of Mount Pinatubo so I said in my explanation because some were saying mejor que nada, better than nothing but we said, ‘No, nada es mejor. Nothing is better.’”

Did they make the right decision? “It’s for others to judge, but we flatter ourselves that we voted on the right side of history.” Rappler.com 

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