MANILA – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that the US is satisfied with the implementation of the controversial agreement with the Philippines that allows for the stay of American military forces in the country, including strife-torn Mindanao.
In a press briefing in Malacanang, Clinton also affirmed the US government’s commitment and readiness to help the millions of Filipinos who suffered and continue to suffer from the heavy damage, death and destruction inflicted by four recent typhoons on the main island of Luzon.
The visiting American official said Washington would continue to send assistance, in cash and in kind, to help the victims recover from the tragedy inflicted first by typhoon “Ondoy†(international codename Ketsana), followed by typhoon “Pepeng†(international codename Parma), later by typhoon “Ramil†(international codename Lupit or “cruel†in Filipino) and finally by typhoon “Santi†(international codename Mirinae) with a period of one month.
Clinton revealed the US was donating an additional $5.3 million, on top of the $14 million it released earlier in response to the Philippine government’s appeal for international assistance when Ondoy caused massive flooding in Metro Manila as well as neighboring provinces in Central and Southern Luzon on September 26.
Clinton arrived at about 1 pm Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for a one-day visit before flying to Singapore to join US President Barack Obama for a meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum November 14 to 15.
From the airport, Clinton and her party motored directly to Malacanang Palace for bilateral talks with her counterpart, Secretary Alberto Romulo of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Following his meeting with Romulo and the press briefing, Clinton proceeded to a public high school in a district in Marikina City east of Metro Manila, one of the cities that was most affected by the floods brought by Ondoy.
She was welcomed by Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando who briefed her on the damage wrought and the ongoing efforts to rehabilitate the affected areas in the city.
Later on Thursday night, Clinton is to attend a dinner to be tendered in her honor by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacanang.
While Clinton‘s spokesman pointed out that the main focus of her visit was to reaffirm US continuing assistance for the relief and rehabilitation of the estimated three million Filipino typhoon victims, the major topic raised during the press briefing was the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the two countries.
She stressed the VFA manifests the continuing cooperation and collaboration between the two countries especially today as it applies to the US-led global war on terrorism.
This was also brought to the fore when thousands of protesters massed in front of the US embassy in Manila, carrying placards denouncing as well as demanding the abrogation of the VFA which was ratified by the Philippine Senate in 1998.
There was no violence reported as Director Roberto Rosales, the head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Metro Manila command, earlier disclosed that he has assigned about 5,000 policemen to ensure the safety of Clinton and her party during their visit.
Those deployed, Rosales said, included members of his command’s civil disturbance management unit, or anti-riot policemen, assigned to handle the militant and other anti-VFA groups who announced they would launch protest rallies as part of their welcome for Clinton.
During the press briefing, Clinton cited the assistance in the relief and rescue missions that American military forces launched, with their Filipino counterparts, when reports broke out about the massive flooding wrought by Ondoy in Metro Manila and neighboring areas.
For his part, Romulo clarified that the VFA’s three main objectives are for the visiting American military forces to assist, advise and train their counterparts in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) particularly on counter-terrorism.
Under the VFA, some US military forces have been assigned to Mindanao to accomplish the three main objectives but never to actively participate in the AFP operations against identified terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf militants, according to Romulo.
But in the aftermath of the four typhoons, Romulo acknowledged the assistance of the US military officers and men who came in with their needed equipment such as boats, bulldozers, trucks and aircraft, as well as tons of relief goods to undertake humanitarian missions in the affected areas.
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