ANL 2nd Quarter
Issue 2014
E D I T O R I A L
Hate your “banana republic”?
I hate this country
Thursday, June 26th, 2014
“Let me say it: I
hate this country!” taunts
matter-of-factly this young lady professional.
I hate how most of the politicians running this country are idiots, are
corrupt, or both. I hate how many of this country’s citizens continue to vote
for the same incompetent characters every election. I hate that votes can
easily be bought from our countrymen because they have so little to begin with.
I hate how our “leaders” continue to take advantage of the people and
our taxes. I hate how such “leaders” pocketed the aid money that was intended
for the victims of Tropical Storm “Sendong.” I hate how illegal logging was
responsible for the deaths of more than a thousand people during the same
tropical storm. I hate how corruption lets activities like illegal logging keep
on happening.
I hate how my hard-earned taxes go to the Louis Vuitton bags of people
like the supposed mastermind of the pork barrel scam. I hate how only an elite
few control the levers of power in this country and forget to take care of the
other 80-million-plus people living in the same space. I hate how a few
centuries ago, we were a proud and strong race, but are now reduced to being
servants of all—caregivers and nurses in countries outside our own.
I hate having an inefficient transportation system. I hate having to
wait almost forever just to get inside a cramped train filled with the body
odors of passengers from all walks of life. I hate having to stand in a bus
that moves recklessly on the highways of Manila and whose passengers have to
hang on for dear life.
I hate having to endure endless traffic. I hate having roads that are
always “under repair” when the election campaign season is near, even when
these roads are in a perfectly good condition. I hate having to pay more for
traveling within the Philippines than traveling outside to places such as
Singapore or Hong Kong. I hate having to endure poor traveling conditions just
to go and see the wonderful tourist places that this country can offer.
I hate it that most of the attention always seems to be focused on Metro
Manila. I hate it that areas outside Metro Manila seem to be given no
importance, the news networks all agog when something even minor happens in
Manila but barely making noise when it concerns the provinces. I hate it that
the capital is overcrowded, with people who think their only goal in life
should be to keep adding to the growing population. I hate it that people from
the provinces get looked down upon. I hate it that privileged students from the
top schools have absolutely no idea what life is the provinces is like. I hate
it that many people still believe the Philippines is only Metro Manila.
I hate how so many Filipinos cannot afford to feed themselves and have
to resort to eating “pagpag” (leftover food dumped in the garbage). I hate
seeing a small child (who is most likely part of a syndicate) go inside a
jeepney to distribute envelopes for alms. I hate how so many of our countrymen
still live in shanties. I hate it that people die because we do not have
adequate health facilities, hospitals, doctors and health workers to take care
of the ailing.
I hate how disasters keep striking this country year after year and our
only response is to say that the Filipino spirit is strong/resilient, and we
continue making the same mistakes leading to the same disasters. I hate it when
the media feed useless trash to the public and prevent it from thinking about
more important issues (that do not concern Vhong Navarro and his beating
incident).
I hate it when brilliant people I know choose to leave this country
because there are better opportunities outside where they can best develop
their talents (and sadly, this country cannot offer the same options to them).
I hate it when mothers and fathers have to leave home to work abroad because
they cannot find a job in this country that can sustain their loved ones, and
consequently produce a dysfunctional family with spoiled children who see their
parents as mere providers of material things.
There are so many things I hate. Most of all, I hate it when I always
try to find a justification for this country. I hate it that I have to find
myself scrambling for answers to queries from relatives if I have plans to
settle abroad. I hate the thought of actually leaving this country, but I
sometimes find myself entertaining the thought of actually leaving in order to
have a comfortable and secure future—in a land where proper health care is
readily available.
I hate it that I found words of inspiration and motivation to stay and
fight for this country from a British man, not from a fellow Filipino! I hate
how I find so many European volunteers appreciating this country, and they are
probably more Filipino in heart than I can ever be. I hate it that as each year
passes, I find myself growing more and more discontented with this country. I
hate how the strong idealism I had after graduation is being chipped away as I
get older.
I hate getting frustrated that whatever effort I make does not appear to
have any lasting impact.
I hate how I keep on believing there is still hope for this country to
turn around. To quote from Brokeback
Mountain: “ I wish I could quit you!”
Angeli
P. Diamante, 24, says she is a “supply chain ninja” at
Gandang Kalikasan, Inc.
[Editor’s Note: Don’t you hate a President accepting a fugitive pork
barrel queen at the sala of his Malacanang Palace office surrendering to save
her ass? And yes, a President of the Republic escorting a criminal to her
prison cell in a police camp with his DILG Secretary in tow like a trained
circus monkey?! Don’t you hate a President belonging to a political dynasty
himself thus abetting his own kind? Don’t you hate a kleptomaniac President
dipping his dirty fingers into illegal PDAP and DAP funds in the tune of a
trillion or so a year? Don’t you hate a President with nary a diplomatic savvy?
Don’t you hate a President with a questionable IQ and character? A “jolly-good pistolero”?
A chain smoker? A balding, pique and eternal blame-game goat? An “istariray”?
Aren’t
you tired counting your fingers like me, and JDC? I regret feeling sick with
our own kin and kind never learning; never fighting back for good! The
Cory-Cory! Laban-Laban! thing of yore is an oligarch’s shit! The so-called
“February 1986 People Power Revolution” was never a genuine revolution but a
CIA hoax-plot! A bogus “revolution” ushering in a mere changing-of-the-guard
from the clutches of a dictator-despot to the fangs of greedy oligarchs! And so
here we are, Angeli, not back to the proverbial square one but to the recesses
of the ruling elite’s assholes!]
F E A T U R E
EDCA economics
YES, Master! Anything I can do for you?
Philippine sovereignty remains seriously challenged
even as the country marks its supposed 116th Independence
Day, 12th June 2014. The biggest threat still comes from the United States
of America especially amid its so-called pivot to Asia. This foreign policy of
the Obama regime involves the deepening of US-PH colonial ties such as through
the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement [EDCA].
Recently signed this June, EDCA is now the most blatant symbol of US
intervention in the country, much like the old US military bases in Subic and
Clark. And like before, government is reciting all sorts of hosannas to justify
what is an essentially new basing deal with the Americans.
Economic
gains?
One of the supposed gains is economic. The
Department of Foreign Affairs claims that EDCA will further benefit the
Philippines “through the provision of jobs and other economic opportunities in
the construction activities… and procurement of local goods and supplies by the
US military and personnel.”
Local construction firms, professionals and experts are expected to be
hired by the US military to build their facilities in so-called “Agreed Locations” under EDCA. Entrepreneurs near these agreed
locations will profit as well due to demand for services and products from
American troops.
EDCA defines Agreed
Locations as facilities and areas that are provided by the Armed Forces of
the Philippines [AFP] for access and use by US forces and contractors. Although
denied by officials, these shall effectively function as military bases for the
US, including prepositioning materiel. Agreed
Locations can be anywhere in the Philippines, even in areas where there are
no existing AFP bases.
Meanwhile, improved business confidence is another
purported economic gain from EDCA. The presence of US forces is claimed to
provide stability that local and foreign investors seek. The military deal is
said to reinforce stability in Asia, which underpins growth in
the region.
No
preferential treatment
Alas, like its supposed defense and security benefits such as AFP
modernization, maritime domain awareness, etc., authorities are overstating
EDCA’s economic gains.
For one thing, EDCA does not require the US to give preferential
treatment to Filipino firms to build facilities in agreed locations or supply
the needs of American troops. On the contrary, it gives the US the exclusive
right to choose its own contractors and suppliers.
Article VIII paragraph 1 of EDCA states: United States forces may contract for any materiel, supplies,
equipment, and services (including construction) to be furnished or undertaken
in the territory of the Philippines without restriction as to
the choice of contractor, supplier, or person who provides such materiel,
supplies, equipment, or services. Such contract shall be solicited, awarded,
and administered in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United
States.
What EDCA merely requires is for the US to make the
best effort to hire Filipino contractors and suppliers although this too shall
conform to US policies. Paragraph 2 of Article VIII states: United States forces shall strive to use Philippine suppliers of
goods, products, and services to the greatest extent practicable in
accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States.
Bases
for US profits
Building and maintaining foreign military bases
have become a lucrative industry in the US, and is dominated by a handful of
private American contractors. Based on one rough estimate, private
contractors raked in $385 billion in overseas bases in the past
decade with the 10 biggest groups cornering one-third of the amount.
The central role that profit-seeking contractors
play in nearly 1,000 US foreign military bases worldwide has been made possible
by the privatization of logistics and core military roles in US wars and
intervention. As one study published in the Indiana Journal of Global Legal
Studies put it, “To economically and
efficiently ‘manufacture’ the ‘product’ known as security, the DoD (US
Department of Defense) has increasingly operated like a transnational
corporation: it has adopted the corporate strategies of rightsizing,
outsourcing, and offshoring.”
Private contractors perform various functions outsourced to them by the
US Defense Department – from the construction and security of foreign military
bases to “running dining facilities and performing laundry services” inside
these bases. Retired US defense and military officials usually found and head
these private contractors, explaining their tight relationship with Pentagon.
Thus, it is not surprising that the US Defense Department ensured that
EDCA would not tie their hands as to their preferred contractors that will
provide goods and services in Agreed
Locations.
American
contractors
Even before EDCA was signed, some of the biggest
American private contractors have already been working in the Philippines to
support US military operations here. One of them is DynCorp International, which has a $16.34-million contract with the
US Navy to perform “labor, supervision, management, tools, materials,
equipment, facilities, transportation, incidental engineering, and other items
necessary to provide support services” to the US Joint Special Operations Task
Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P).
JSOTF-P forces have been rotationally deployed by
the US in Mindanao since 2002 through the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Their deployment was part of the so-called war on terror of the then Bush
administration. They keep facilities inside AFP bases in Zamboanga
City, Maguindanao and Sulu. These facilities are being maintained and secured
by DynCorp.
Another is Huntington
Ingalls Industries, which builds ships for the US Navy and Coast Guard. In
2012, Huntington Ingalls forged a service deal with giant South Korean firm Hanjin Heavy Industries to provide
maintenance, repair and logistics services to the US Navy at Subic Bay. The
contract was apparently in anticipation of increased US military presence in
the country that will now materialize under EDCA.
Exploiting
workers
At best, the only possible economic “benefit” that Filipinos may have
under EDCA is as a source of cheap labor. To further bloat their profits, US
military contractors usually subcontract to a third party (e.g. recruitment
agency) the hiring of workers to perform low-paying jobs inside US military
bases.
This system, as a study by Al Jazeera disclosed, is being used to exploit the workers. DynCorp and other US contractors in
Afghanistan, for instance, collude with recruiters to charge exorbitant fees to
workers and pay them cheap wages while working 12-hour days with little or no
time off to do the “cooking, cleaning, laundry, construction and other support
tasks necessary to operate military facilities”.
Worse, EDCA does not provide protection mechanisms to workers but
also in fact deprive workers of using Philippine laws to safeguard their rights
and welfare. As pointed out by the petition submitted by Makabayan and others to the Supreme
Court questioning EDCA’s constitutionality, Article XI of the deal states: “Disputes and other matters subject to consultation under this
Agreement shall not be referred to any national or international court,
tribunal, or other similar body, or to any third party for settlement, unless
otherwise agreed by the Parties.”
Such disputes may include violation of labor
rights, which is worrisome since Article VIII of EDCA allows the US to hire
contractors without any restriction. This means that even the most notorious
contractors such as DynCorp and their
partners like Hanjin [also infamous
for the series of deaths of their shipyard workers in Subic] will
continue to land deals under EDCA.
Another possible source of “jobs” are the services for the “rest and
recreation” of American troops. But this also means increased exploitation of
Filipino women as red light districts near Agreed
Locations are sure to thrive like in the heydays of Subic and Clark.
Certainly, these are not the sorts of “economic opportunities” we seek
under EDCA.
Generous
perks
In reality, it is the US and its contractors who stand to gain the most
economic benefits from EDCA. Agreed
Locations, as specified in Article III paragraph 3 of the Agreement, for
instance, shall be made available without rental or similar costs.
And while the country allowed the US to use the Agreed Locations rent-free, the Philippines may still have to
compensate the US for the “improvements or construction” in the Agreed Locations, as stated in Article V
paragraph 2 of EDCA. The same thing is true with equipment stored in the Agreed Locations, which the Philippines
may still need to purchase from the US subject to its laws and regulations [Article
V paragraph 5].
Furthermore, US contractors and troops can use public utilities such as
water and electricity tax-free, as stated in Article VII paragraph 1 of EDCA.
It will be the Filipino taxpayers who will be shouldering the tax burden on the
use of such public utilities by US contractors and troops. As noted by the
Makabayan petition against EDCA, no private company in the Philippines
currently enjoys such generous privilege.
Impact
on livelihood
Government is clearly exaggerating the supposed economic gains from EDCA
while concealing the fact that negotiators gave too many unjustifiable perks to
the US. Aggravating the matter is the likelihood that increased US military
presence and operation under EDCA will harshly impact on the livelihood of
local communities where the Agreed
Locations will be established. Already, “Balikatan”
military drills have been affecting local livelihood such as the small fishers
who are being displaced during naval exercises by US and Filipino troops.
Government will also likely acquire more lands or
areas to build military facilities in order to accommodate Agreed Locations that the US wants to establish. This is because
some locations that the US finds suitable may not be hosting AFP bases. In
Subic, for example, which is now a free port zone, the AFP is negotiating with civilian authorities to establish its
bases there so that a portion of it can be used as an Agreed Location.
What if the US wants to build a naval or air force facility in Palawan
or Batanes where there are fishing or farming communities? The US is notorious
for displacing whole communities just to build its bases such as what it did in
Okinawa and Diego Garcia.
EDCA is evidently a lopsided agreement that violates our sovereignty
while promising false gains. It has always been the case in our more than a
hundred year- old relationship with the US. Something needs to change
E D I T O R I A L B O
A R D
MEMBERS:
Rudy D. Antonio [Canada Correspondent]; Engr. Silver
Casilla & RN Merly Grospe-Mayo [U.S. Correspondents]; Ronilo R.
Corpuz [Vienna Correspondent]; Fely Dumaguing-Malgapo [Milan Correspondent]; Engr. Joe
L. Sevilla [Asingan Correspondent]; Col. Lalin Layos-Pascual; Ross C. Diaz;
Engr. Lorie dG. Estrada;
CPA Rod A. Layco; Wena
Agaton-Balino [Photo & Lay-out Artist];
Ruben “Bencio” Balino [ Editor-In-Chief].
