Manila Today
“Wala tayong kaibigan na mapagsamantala. Wala tayong kaibigan na nanghihimasok sa ating mga teritoryo,” said Youth for Justice and Peace (Y4JP) spokesperson Ysabelle Briones, following the Philippine American Friendship Day.
[We have no friends who exploit us. We have no friends who intrude into our territories]
Along with various youth formations, Y4JP held an ecumenical prayer and street theater in Kalaw Avenue, Manila to reiterate their demand against the subservience of Marcos-Duterte administration to foreign powers, especially the United States and China.
Y4JP is an alliance which aims to bring together all young proponents of peace, churches, Sangguniang Kabataan, student councils, student publications, school administrators, and other patriotic individuals.
PH-US friendship, an illusion
“Idineklara ang araw na ito dahil diumano binigyan tayo ng kalayaan ng US, ngunit isa lamang itong ilusyon dahil nananatili at nagpapatuloy ang mga hindi pantay na kasunduan,” said Briones.
[This day is declared to commemorate our supposed freedom granted by the US, but it’s merely an illusion as unequal agreements persist and continue]
Briones also noted that the US has since exploited the Philippines to intervene in the country’s internal affairs, be it in economy, politics, culture, and military aspect.
It has been 25 years since the Philippines signed the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which paved the construction of US bases, especially through Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which was also signed in 2014.
These agreements allowed the continuing and permanent presence of hundreds of US and other foreign troops in various parts of the country and its surrounding waters, including the disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Aside from VFA, the Philippines also had a military pact between the US in the forms of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) in 1951 and the Mutual Logistics Service Agreement (MLSA).
In April 2023, four new EDCA sites were approved to be established in the province of Cagayan, Isabela, and Palawan. It was also in the same month that the Marcos Jr. administration strengthened its military force through Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program which was supported by the US up to $10 billion.
“Ito ang mga rason kung bakit tumataas ang tensyon sa WPS. Ito ang rason kung bakit hayok na hayok ang Tsina na manghimasok sa ating teritoryo. At hindi rin nakakaligtas sa pagiging pekeng kaibigan ang papet na rehimeng Marcos-Duterte dahil pinapayagan nila ang mga hindi pantay na kasunduan,” Briones affirmed.
[These are the reasons why tensions are rising in the West Philippine Sea. This is why China is eager to intrude into our territory. The puppet regime of Marcos-Duterte is also not exempt from being a fake friend because they allow unequal agreements]
Over the last decade, the Philippines accumulated a whopping $8406.58 billion from combined official and private donors including multilateral agencies in its Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is a loan or grant administered to promote sustainable social and economic development and welfare.
No to MROTC
“The military has no place in our university,” Nuraini Nurad of Sulong UP Manila stressed.
She further slammed the Marcos Jr. administration in the railroading of Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (MROTC) as a manifestation of such unjust and unfair military policies between the Philippines and the US.
“Dahil sa VFA at EDCA, ginagamit ng US ang Pilipinas bilang isang pronta o training grounds para sa pinaplanong digmaan at ang MROTC ay ginagawang paraan para kunan lamang ng US ng reserbang pwersa ang mga kabataan sa gitna ng umiinit na tensyon sa pagitan ng Tsina,” said Nurad.
[Because of the VFA and EDCA, the US is using the Philippines as a front or training ground for their planned war, and the MROTC is being used as a means for the US to draw reserve forces from the youth amid rising tensions with China]
The push for reviving Mandatory ROTC came from various lawmakers with Senator Robinhood Padilla being a notable advocate. Sen. Padilla even proposed amending the provision in the 1987 Constitution to include “imminent threat” to declare a martial law following the ongoing disputes in the WPS.
“Ang ating mga pamantasan ay dapat lugar kung saan ligtas at malaya tayong nakakapag-aral, nakakapag-organisa at nakakakilos. Ngunit itong mga espasyong ito na dapat sa atin ay pilit pinapasok ng mga militar at kapulisan,” Nurad added.
[Our universities should be spaces where we can study, organize, and act freely and safely. However, these spaces that should be ours are forcibly entered by the military and police]
Since the first quarter of 2024, universities around Taft Avenue particularly those near Luneta Park have reported on the heightened police presence in their area with some uniformed personnel even entering school premises.
Earlier this month, on July 1, The Torch Publication of the Philippine Normal University reported that police had requested the university for its student population, saying that the Philippine National Police (PNP) were tasked with gathering the total number of students at each university in Manila.
Nurad noted that these are manifestations of counterinsurgency objectives to infiltrate progressive and critical students or organizations in schools which are deemed to be activist-hotbeds.
National Union of Students of the Philippines NCR (NUSP NCR) said that counterinsurgency efforts in schools have led to the formation of Student Intelligence Networks (SIN) reported to be an extension of the AFP’s counterinsurgency program. These networks aim to monitor and vilify militant groups, fraternities, student councils, and school publications.
“Ang MROTC ay isa lamang huwad na nasyonalismo na sumusuhay lamang sa militarisasyon sa ating mga pamantasan. Isa lamang itong pronta ng pasistang rehimen upang pagsamantalahan, kontrolin, at nagbabanta sa akademikong kalayaan at karapatan nating mga kabataan,” Nurad stressed.
[MROTC is nothing but a false nationalism that only furthers the militarization of our universities. It is merely a tool of the fascist regime to exploit, control, and threaten the academic freedom and rights of our youth]
