CLARK FREEPORT- A militant group accused yesterday Pres. Aquino of “hiding the truth” on alleged arrangements to virtually revert the Subic Bay Freeport to its former status as a US naval base.
In a statement, Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said “ the President has virtually transformed the international airport in Zambales as de facto US military base.”
“This is an act of treason,” he said.
He said “the Subic International Airport is just a name and in reality, it is now a US military facility operating on a regular basis to accommodate increasing numbers of White House troops gearing for wars of aggression in different parts of the globe.”
Hicap cited the recent arrival of more than 2,200 American troops for the Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) also to be joined by 1,600 soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in various parts of the country from October 8 to18.
“This is a clear manifestation that Subic is now back in the limelight as the largest American base outside the US mainland,” he said.
Hicap also said the proposal of Executive Director Edilberto Adan of the VFA Commission to put Subic back in harness as a military airport to be used by US military forces is “an open endorsement of US retaking and restoration of Subic naval base.”
Pamalakaya and Anakpawis party list, in another joint statement, lamented the “lukewarm response” of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the issue.
“The increasing presence of US military and the growing use of Subic into a US military outpost merit the attention and appropriate action of the legislative branch of government,” Hicap said.
He stressed that “the situation merits the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement.”
The former Subic Naval Base was one of the biggest military bases of the US in the Philippines. On September 16, 1991, the Philippine Senate did not renew the 1946 Military Bases Agreement (MBA) between the US and the Philippines, leading to the closure of all US military facilities in the country.
