MANILA, Philippines – Seven senators, just one vote shy of
what’s needed to torpedo the Visiting Forces Agreement between the
Philippines and Australia, voted to reject treaty ratification on
Wednesday as Congress prepared to adjourn sine die until July 23, when
another round of voting is scheduled.
Senator Joker Arroyo led six of his peers in rejecting
ratification of the VFA, citing Australia’s disregard for Philippine
interest in several matters, notably for continuously banning the
country’s fruit exports.
“The Senate cannot simply concur in treaties if other
contracting countries have no consideration of the country’s interest,”
Arroyo said in his interpellation.
The Senate approved the treaty on second reading with 7 negative votes and 14 affirmative votes.
According to Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, the third reading of SRN 788 will be done when session resumes on July 23.
Under the Constitution, the Senate has the sole power to
ratify any treaty or international agreement entered into by the
Executive Department and a 2/3 vote of the present members of the Upper
Chamber is needed to adopt it.
“Like the impeachment trial, the treaty needs 2/3 votes of
the members of the Senate. As seven senators voted against the
agreement at this stage, it only needs one more vote to finally reject
the treaty,” Arroyo said in an interview after the voting.
The senator recalled that when he entered the Senate in
2001, one of the first matters taken up was the issue of Manila’s mango
exports to Australia. “During that time, Philippine mangoes were banned
and Sen. (Edgardo) Angara was fuming mad because with his experience in
agriculture, he knew that the country’s mangoes were accepted in the US,
Japan and other advanced countries.
“Today when I asked Senator Angara about the problem, he
replied that Australia has not only banned mangoes but also bananas and
pineapples, and that the country’s balance of trade with Australia was
P500 million in imports and only P50 million in exports, meaning, it is
lopsided,” he argued.
Aside from Arroyo, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago,
Sergio Osmena III, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Aquilino Pimentel III, Manuel
Villar and Ralph Recto opposed the measure.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, together with Senators
Loren Legarda, Jinggoy Estrada, Franklin Drilon, Vicente Sotto III, Pia
Cayetano, Bong Revilla, Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, Antonio Trillanes
IV, Edgardo Angara, Kiko Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio
Honasan voted to approve the measure on second reading.
Senator Kiko Pangilinan, meanwhile, reserved the right to explain his vote once the resolution is taken up on third reading.
Santiago pointed out a part of the Agreement which says
that the visiting forces may temporarily use land, sea and air space or
other facilities of the receiving state for training, exercises or other
activities mutually approved by both countries, but noted that there is
no clear constitutional basis for the country’s military forces to be
trained by a visiting force.
“Proponents of the Agreement between the Philippines and
Australia have not made clear what the constitutional basis is for the
Philippines to allow our military forces to be trained by a visiting
force in our own territory,” Santiago said, and warned that concurrence of the Philippines “may threaten the sovereignty of the country.”
Explicit terms on environment
The Agreement, which was ratified by President Benigno
Aquino III on December 23, 2010, called for the issuance of a Memorandum
Order (MO) directing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) to closely monitor the activities of the Australian Visiting
Forces and its Civilian Component in the Philippines, and ensure that
these activities do not violate any of the environmental laws and
ordinances of the country.
“The Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) with
Australia sets a precedent in defense agreements in that it has unique
provisions on environmental protection. The Agreement explicitly
prohibits the conduct of exercises or other activities in protected
areas, ancestral domain areas, critical watersheds and protected forest
areas,” Senator Loren Legarda, sponsor of the resolution and chair of
the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Climate Change, said.
“It also provides that any environmental damage will be
subjected to claims and compensation and that the sending state will be
responsible for the rehabilitation of damaged areas,” Legarda added.
“The Agreement will enforce the duties and obligations of
both parties with respect to environmental protection, including the
clean-up and restoration of any local site or body of water that may be
affected by the activities allowed for under the Agreement,” she added.
The Agreement also calls for the Service Authorities of
Australia to cooperate with the Philippine government to prevent any
abuse or misuse of the privileges granted in favor of Australian
Visiting Forces and its Civilian Component, and to ensure that proper
discharge of the obligations imposed on the visiting party are met.
The Agreement addresses the sensitive issue of criminal
jurisdiction “through a clear set of rules,” and that the “authorities
of the receiving state have jurisdiction over visiting forces with
respect to offenses committed within the receiving state and punishable
by the law of the receiving state, but not by the law of the sending
state.”
“With respect to criminal jurisdiction, it is provided in
the Philippine-Australian VFA that the receiving state shall exercise
primary jurisdiction over all offenses except for offenses relating to
the property and security of the sending state, and offenses performed
in official duty. Thus, as a general rule, offenses shall be under the
primary jurisdiction of the receiving state. We believe that these are
but reasonable rights afforded to the sending state,” Legarda added.
Respect for the other's laws
According to Legarda, there is also emphasis made in the
SOVFA regarding the principle of respect for the laws of the receiving
state.
“No offender from the visiting forces who commits a crime
in the Philippines will escape justice under the SOVFA,” Legarda
stressed.
The resolution also states that the Agreement must provide
for a comprehensive legal framework that will govern the status of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Australian Defense Forces
personnel who will participate in education, training, combined
exercises and humanitarian activities in each others territories.
The Agreement, which provides for enhanced bilateral
defense and military cooperation between the two countries through the
exchange of visits, was anchored on the 1995 Memorandum of Understanding
on Cooperative Defense Activities with Australia through exchange of
visits.
Since 2001, Australia has extended defense assistance to the Philippines totalling an estimated P1.16 billion.
This includes, among others, military education and
training of an average of 120 AFP officers annually in Australia,
costing an average of US$ 26.751 million per year; contribution of US$
17.834 million worth of riverine boats as part of the efforts to upgrade
counter-terrorism and maritime security capabilities; supporting the
implementation of the Coast Watch System to strengthen the country’s
capability in addressing maritime security challenges; and conducting
counter-terrorism trainings and mutual training assistance to help
develop inter-operability between the special operations units of the
armies and navies of the Philippines and Australia.
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