US converting PH into another ‘Guantanamo prison’ a real stretch of the imagination

READ Nelson D. Laviña’s commentary that saw print in the INQUIRER last Jan. 24 with interest. Titled “We are a Guantanamo” (Opinion, 1/24/14), the article suggests that the United States is attempting to create another prison in the Philippines, much like the American prison for terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The comparison of a prison for terrorists (that target most of the free world) with a democratic republic is a real stretch of the imagination. Nonetheless, I read on hoping to grasp the logic and sense of this rather dramatic title.

As I read the details of Laviña’s story I found it lacking in truth and very pointedly anti-American. I suggest that while he is entitled to his own opinion, he is not entitled to fabricate “facts” in order to make some points that are arguably lost within his hazy thesis that the Philippines would be “one big de facto US military base.” No matter how hard I try to wrap my head around this idea, I cannot in my wildest imagination draw this conclusion. It would have helped, at least somewhat, if Laviña had taken us to his conclusion in a step by step logical way. Instead we are asked to stretch our imagination to the breaking point to draw the same conclusion.

Some statements in this commentary are certainly not true. For example “The recent visit of the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, taunted the Constitution.” This statement referenced Section 8, Article 11 of the Philippine Constitution. Certainly, there is a huge difference between “nuclearpowered” and “nuclear-armed.” I know for certain that the USS George Washington was in the Philippines for relief operations in the wake of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” US helicopters delivered relief items to some remote locations that were not serviced by the government or NGOs. The people that were helped told me that the United States provided the only relief they received.

Laviña claims that the United States is “financially crippling” the Filipino people by refusing to pay for its military bases. When I travel around the Philippines I drive on roads built by the American military and drive past abandoned bases that were built for and left to the Filipino people. Subic Bay is just one of many. So does America pay its own way? I honestly don’t know, but I do know that a very significant amount was most certainly paid.

America “deserted Iraq”? At the time of the American withdrawal, the Iraqis and the Americans were not asking but rather demanding awithdrawal. America simply listened to the people, something it has not been good at in the past.

Finally, the issues with the Chinese territorial claim against the Philippines are, and will continue to be, addressed by the US military. How can they do that if the Philippines will not allow access to ports and facilities needed to provide a safety net for the Philippines and others? Laviña thinks it is not needed due to a 1975 agreement prohibiting China to commit an act of aggression against the Philippines. Do I suppose the Chinese will remember a 30-year-old agreement?

Further, Laviña thinks the United States must defend the Philippines even if the latter does nothing whatsoever to facilitate this effort. Well, maybe so, but can the Philippines be sure?

So then, should the Philippines allow the United States to use the Philippines for military purposes? Honestly, I have no idea. I do hope the Philippines will really look at the true facts and honestly move to a good decision that meets the needs of the Filipino people. Love America or hate it, there are good reasons for both. But making the Philippines a Guantanamo? I don’t think so.