SANLAKAS is today already warning the Philippine public of the potential dangers that an expanded presence of United States military forces on Philippine soil may yet bring upon us. The Left coalition is very much concerned about the possibility that US-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, may be militarily operated inside the country and eventually cause unnecessary deaths and destruction.

The activist group issued its alarm amidst recent media reports confirming ongoing PH-US bilateral defense talks in Washington DC aimed at expanding US military forces in the Philippines. This is part of America’s new strategic policy shift toward the Asia-Pacific region to primarily contain China as a steadily rising regional military power threatening US foreign policy interests in this part of the world.

According to SANLAKAS Spokesperson Rasti Delizo, “Any increase of US military forces in the Philippines may yet result in the potential use of American drones, such as the Predators or Reapers, in joint PH-US military operations ostensibly aimed at so-called terrorist targets. If this ever happens, unnecessary deaths and destruction may yet arise across our country. And as is the case in Pakistan and Iran today, Washington will never publicly confirm such drone operations. As such, the Filipino masses must now come out once again to principally resist and stop the intensifying Manila-Washington axis of terror before this war camp drowns us in more horrific bloodshed”.

Likewise, as a democratic and anti-imperialist organization, SANLAKAS remains strongly opposed to the current presence of US troops, specifically under the 1951 PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the 1999 PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the 2002 PH-US Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA). These continuing and unjustly imposed bilateral instruments are not in the long-term interests of our people as they will only ensure our country’s further enslavement to America’s neoliberal-militarist agenda. This arrangement has already made us into a near-permanent puppet-state of the US.

In concluding, Delizo further stated, “Our people must already and urgently establish a broad-based united front against America’s militarist expansionism and to heighten our resistance against US imperialist intervention in the sovereign affairs of Philippine society. Just as we proudly ousted the US military bases from Philippine soil over two decades ago, we must once more struggle and fight against the more dangerous type of VFA—‘Virtually Forever Aggression’ of the PNoy-Obama variety—which is the real threat to our masses’ freedoms and democratic rights.

SANLAKAS PRESS RELEASE
1 February 2012

MR. RASTI DELIZO (SANLAKAS Spokesperson) @ Cellphone # 09998092461