Shall we have the US bases back?
It wasn’t foreseen. When the American GIs hurriedly left after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991, a vacuum ensued. When the Americans had their bases here-Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga and Subic Naval Base in Zambales, China never dared encroaching on our waters. There was never a single story which I can remember that Chinese coast guards drove away Pinoy fishermen. Three years after the closure of Clark Air Force, the headquarter of the 13th US Air Force, China started making its move by claiming Mischief reefs, Panatag and Scarborough shoals.
I remember some years ago certain country, business groups particularly in the the influential Makati Business Club were raising ‘serious’concerns on President Duterte’s move then to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Luckily the former mayor of Davao City who was lucky enough to have been voted into office by 16 million Filipinos changed his mind and now the balikatan exercises resumed.
Some reasons why Duterte expressed anti- American sentiment because his foreign policy shifted to China. His jet ski remark was a ‘joke’. More of a campaign line to get the fishermen’s votes in 2016 presidential race.
Clark Air Force Base was the biggest military installation outside of the continental United States. It’s the facility wherein the American government conducted operations in the whole of the pacific. It patrolled and protected allies including the Philippines. Modern jets, submarines and other naval vessels were parked in their bases. We don’t have this materiel. In like manner, now that Ukraine is under siege is asking European allies for support. That should have been done years ago, stockpiling for materiel because it has a belligerent neighbor-Russia. China has been flexing its muscles and annexation of our territories is so evident. What do we do? Insisting on the UNCLOS ( United Nation Conference on Law of the Sea) favorable ruling. Totally ignored by China.
On a hindsight, the Cory Aquino administration should have carefully studied the consequences of the bases removal. It was during her time that the bases agreement was abrogated. Oh my! I believe the late Joker Arroyo and his think tank made a misstep. And Fidel Ramos who succeeded Tita Cory should have started a re-study of the vacuum. His armed forces modernization project was a total flop after the jamount of P25 billion went to the black hole, so to speak.
On another dimension as viewed then. The prolonged stay of the Americans in our country caused some irritants between American servicemen and to people living in what we known then as the off-Base communities like Porac, Angeles, Mabalacat,Bamban and Capas. Aside from those shot and killed by sentry guards suspected of pilfering, I clearly remember the case of a lawyer, a special counsel at the Angeles City Fiscal’s office who was arrested and handcuffed in full view of people just for fetching water from a faucet near the main gate. The Americans later apologized. But the damage was done.There were other abuses committed by the GIs and highlighted even by a movie starring Nora Aunor with her famous line: ‘My brother is not a pig.’
It was true then that economies of the off-base communities were partly dependent on the American expenditures. The American base was the biggest employer. And on the downside it became also the source of black market items, thus competing with the locally manufactured goods. The socalled PX stores mushroomed in Dau, Mabalacat and in Angeles City. Those were the grievances. They were directed against the Americans. Now the grievance is against China.