PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
By TJ A. Burgonio
04/28/2014
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Not buying it: Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago |
That the agreement was signed by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassador Philip Goldberg came as an “unfair surprise” to the Senate, she said in a statement.
“This contretemps does not indicate good faith on the part of the two presidents,” said the chair of the Senate foreign relations committee.
Santiago has argued that such an agreement should first be submitted to the Senate, which she said shared the treaty-making power with the President.
Since the Senate has not been furnished a copy of the deal, Santiago said she had no basis for assessing whether the deal was “positive for my country.”
“The Senate has not been given the courtesy of being furnished a copy,” she said. “I feel as if I have been slapped or ordered to melt into the wallpaper,” she said.
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Philippine anti-U.S. protesters burn effigy of Obama |
The senator doubted that the deal would oblige the United States to rush to Philippine aid if attacked by China, which has been aggressively asserting its claims to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
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BBC, CIA Al Jazeera frauds, Obamaite shills ignore protests |
Hundreds of protesters marched from Liwasang Bonifacio to Mendiola in Manila to express their anger and disapproval at the Obama visit and the EDCA.
Members of the militant groups Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Karapatan and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas burned a giant effigy of President Aquino and Obama in the form of a dog pulling a chariot, which they claimed signified the US pivot to Asia.
“Obama’s visit in Manila is a reaffirmation of the more than a century of colonial and neocolonial relations, and the Filipino people do not stand to benefit from his presence and from more US troops in the country,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes.
A suspected bomb was found inside the Bayview Park Hotel in Ermita, Manila, just across the US Embassy. Police confirmed that a device from a suspicious package taken from the fifth floor of the hotel was harmlessly detonated. It was unclear if the incident was linked to the Obama visit.
“Even the much-touted ‘Asia pivot’ strategy that the EDCA will represent in the Philippines does not guarantee that the United States will defend us from China’s bullying in the region,” it noted. With reports from Leila B. Salaverria and Maricar B. Brizuela in Manila, and Allan Macatuno and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon