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MANILA, Philippines ? President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s successor should design a foreign policy that will cater to Filipino interests instead of maintaining the current one which is alien to the people?s needs, according to a University of the Philippines professor and author.
More specifically, Roland Simbulan of the UP Manila College of Arts and Letters called on presidential aspirants to address the toxic waste left behind by American troops in Subic and Clark, consider the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and reprogram foreign remittances to local enterprises instead of supporting foreign businesses.
Simbulan posed these challenges to the presidential candidates during the launch of his latest book, ?Forging A Nationalist Foreign Policy,? at UP Diliman last week.
He said that whoever wins in May 2010 should address the issues from a people-based viewpoint instead of an elitist perspective to pave the way for a more Filipino-friendly foreign policy.
In an interview prior to the book launch, Simbulan described the VFA as ?negotiated subservience? to the United States.
He chided the US and Philippine governments for failing to address the issue of toxic waste left behind by the American military in its former bases at Clark and Subic, and for leaving the responsibility to ?non-state actors? or private organizations.
Among his other allegations was that the US Central Intelligence Agency used both ?diplomatic? and ?non-official covers? to engage in ?covert operations, sabotage and political intervention? to undermine Philippine sovereignty.
He warned that foreign policy would not change or improve automatically with the election of a new president in 2010.
?The real hope lies not in the electoral struggle, not in [Sen. Benigno] ?Noynoy? [Aquino III], not in [Sen. Manuel] Villar, not in [former President Joseph] ?Erap? [Estrada], but in deepening the processes of democratization,? Simbulan said.
Philippine foreign policy has always been left to the discretion of the elite who ?think as if it is [their responsibility to] defend foreign interests, not those of fellow Filipinos,? he said.
?Hopefully, the new policymakers would heed the advice and recommendations in this book, like how to steer foreign policy to work for our needs,? Simbulan said.
He lamented that ?we are giving away too much of our natural and human resources,? advocating a ?self-determined, pro-peace Philippine foreign policy that serves our needs and interests.?
Simbulan offered concrete solutions to foreign policy situations. On the issue of dollar remittances, he proposed a strategic program for the use of remittances ?so the money could be used for national industries to create jobs in the Philippines and support local enterprises instead of foreign industries.?
He said the conversion of arable lands that previously hosted US bases must be carefully studied. These lands should be owned and operated by Filipinos for the benefit of Filipinos, he said.
