If we do not have laws, what do you think will happen to our country? Obviously people would do whatever they wanted to do; hurt or even kill one another and this is one of the reasons why we came up with Constitution. “Most” of the laws are obeyed but when they are not, whoever breaks it is punished. Sometimes laws seem UNFAIR and need to be changed but the problem comes when an agreement between two countries entered the law of one of the countries involved and a good example of this is the (VFA) Visiting Forces Agreement. When the Visiting Forces Agreement entered in the Philippine law, everything has been changed. Filipinos have all their rights written in the Philippine Constitution and the government has the responsibility to ensure that these rights are being exercised fairly and properly.
For some reasons, VFA has a positive impact to the Philippine for it extends the privileges to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines when they are sent for trainings in the US. It also shares strategies in battles and shares information that can help the Philippines protect their territories and prevent terrorist attack but are all these stuffs enough for the Philippines to say that they truly benefit from the VFA??? oH come on! How long have we stayed in ignorance when it comes to our relations with the Americans? Filipinos, WAKE UP! What is behind this agreement? Who benefits from it? Who gets the profit? When can we stand on our own?
VFA serves for the interest of the government. This is a perfect agreement that the Philippines have for it violates HUMAN RIGHTS! (sigh) This is so unfair… According to one of the articles given to us by Ms. Dela Cruz (professor in PHIFOCY) http://zamboangajournal.blogspot.com/2009/02/rp-us-visiting-forces-agreement-helps.html, (1) “The VFA enhances Philippine national security and helps create a stable environment conducive to economic development.” But what do they used in military training exercises? They used live ammunitions that pose danger to human lives and animals and also destroy the environment. (2) “The Philippines was assisted in the training and equipping.” Their joint military exercises with the AFP, governed by the terms and provisions of the VFA, give reason for US military personnel to stay on Philippine territory for an unspecified period of time. Therefore it does not specify in clear and concise terms the extent of access to and movement within, the Philippines of US forces "visiting" in the Philippines. Area of coverage could be the entire country. How about the number of US personnel? How long will they stay? FOREVER?!? (3) “Assigned or visiting American soldiers need not abide by laws and regulations regarding: passport and visa, driver’s license, vehicle registration and payment of custom duties and taxes.” These privileges and exemptions make the US personnel special class of persons. They are treated MUCH BETTER than Filipinos! (4) “VFA guarantees “equal protection before the law” because it gives special privileges and rights to uniformed and civil members of the US Defense Department. These are rights and privileges that are not given to the ordinary Filipino citizen.” Any agreement entered into by the government with any foreign government should not result in foreigners being given preferential treatment over Filipinos in our own country. The Philippines should have rejected the agreement for it only works on their disadvantage. (5) “VFA formed the backbone of the soft approach to combating terrorism and foster inter-faith cooperation between Christian and Muslim communities.” Did the government enter into this kind of agreement because it fosters the peace of human kind or maybe they just entered it because “VFA” sounds new and good even if it’s the other way around? K Why is peace process in Mindanao one of the objectives of P-Noy? …….
What should we protect first? National interest or Foreign treaty? What are we afraid of??? I will not be surprised if one day, there will be ANOTHER rape case here in our country and same process will happen. Case, dismissed! :-) American soldiers, we salute you… Filipinos, they protect us so we must protect them too :-) --wtf--
I strongly believe that the VFA is for the US and not for the Philippines. It only violates the Philippine Constitution. If we benefit from this agreement even if by 0.00025%, why not make some changes for the betterment? The Americans are our visitors, and it is true Filipinos are known for being “hospitable”. We respect our visitors but they must respect us too. Everything that was written in the constitution, they must respect it. The US needs us that is why they came up with this kind of agreement with the Philippines. It’s just us who have to think again. The government should realize their responsibilities in ensuring the welfare of the Filipinos. Let us not allow the unequal treatment to Filipinos in favor of the American soldiers. US being a superpower should not be an excuse for them to continue whatever violations they have been doing in our country. It’s not too late to correct our mistakes. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment