On Sept. 16, 1991, the Senate voted 12 to 11 to reject a new bases treaty with the United States, citing the pact as “one-sided and unequal.” The agreement would have allowed the US to keep Subic Naval Base for 10 more years in exchange for about $200 million in aid.
About 8,000 soldiers from the United States and Philippines will participate in this year’s 29th Balikatan exercises in April, the military said Tuesday.
Saying apologies and guarantees of “just compensation” were not enough, at least two Philippine senators are keen to hold the United States accountable for the destruction of the Tubbataha Reef following the grounding a US Navy minesweeper on the marine sanctuary nearly a month ago.
Rising from her sick bed, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago slammed on Tuesday, the United States’ “magnanimity” over its warship’s destruction of the Tubbataha Reef, saying it should be held accountable for violations of both local and international laws instead of calling it an accident and promising compensation for the priceless marine park.
The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has expressed willingness to send a team of experts to the Tubbataha Reef to assess the damage caused by the grounding of a US Navy minesweeper in the Philippine marine park which the UN agency declared a World Heritage Site in December 1993.
Various groups composed of marine and legal experts on Thursday urged the Philippine government to “act decisively” in holding the United States (US) accountable for the damage its stranded United States (US) Navy Ship caused to the Tubbataha Reef, saying that the US would continue to commit “environmental crimes” should the government let this pass.
The United States Navy has sent 10 American divers to assess the situation and brought in two private salvor ships to try to extricate its minesweeper that got stuck on Tubbataha Reef, a world-renowned marine sanctuary in the Sulu Sea, the Philippine Navy said on Sunday.
Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Friday called anew for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement as a US Navy warship ran aground in the world heritage site Tubbataha Reefs in Sulu Sea.
The discovery of a downed US-made unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, in the waters off Masbate on Sunday has revived calls for the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States.
The United States embassy in Manila on Monday said a US warship has docked in Manila Bay for a routine port call.
A senator and a congressman are set to file on Monday a joint resolution calling for the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States.
The US Navy contractor accused of dumping hazardous waste on Subic Bay last month can’t invoke the Visiting Forces Agreement between the United States and the Philippines to seek cover from any liabilities, Malacañang said Saturday.
