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href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-ramiro-duterte-philippines_us_5a8f3c57e4b01e9e56b9cae1">https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-ramiro-duterte-philippines_us_5a8f3c57e4b01e9e56b9cae1</a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">America's Indefensible Alliance With The
Philippines</h1>
<div id="meta-data" class="meta-data">
<div id="reader-estimated-time">By <span>Rhonda Ramiro</span>
and <span>Azadeh Shahshahani - February 23, 2018<br>
</span></div>
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<p><span>The burgeoning alliance between President <a
href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"Donald
Trump","mpid":1,"plid":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:1"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="1"
data-v9y="0">Donald Trump</a> and Philippine
President <a
href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/rodrigo-duterte"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"Rodrigo
Duterte","mpid":2,"plid":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/rodrigo-duterte"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:1"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="2"
data-v9y="0">Rodrigo Duterte</a> appears destined to
become the 21</span><span>st</span><span> century
version of the Ronald Reagan-Ferdinand Marcos
alliance. </span></p>
<p><span>That union in the 1980s allowed the Marcos
dictatorship to last 14 years, despite Marcos’ </span><a
href="http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54a/062.html"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"notoriety
for
murdering","mpid":3,"plid":"http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54a/062.html"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:2"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="3" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">notoriety for murdering</span></a><span>
over 3,000 people as well as jailing 70,000 and
torturing 34,000 of his political rivals and other
innocent people. Reagan stood by his Filipino ally to
the bitter end, even granting Marcos asylum in Hawaii
when it became clear that “people power” would soon
topple the unsustainable dictatorship. According to
Reagan, granting a haven to Marcos and 90 of his
family members and close associates was “</span><a
href="https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00965R000504860019-2.pdf"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"in
the best
interests","mpid":4,"plid":"https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00965R000504860019-2.pdf"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:2"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="4" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">in the best interests</span></a><span>”
of U.S.-Filipino relations. Those interests included a
network of some of the largest U.S. military bases in
the world at the time.</span></p>
<p><span>Such die-hard support for a brutal dictator was
immoral back then. </span></p>
<p><span>Knowing the legacy of trauma that the Marcos
dictatorship inflicted on the Filipino people and the
country as a whole makes supporting the </span><a
href="https://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/-Duterte-Admits-Fascism-Vows-Defeat-of-Communist-Terrorists-and-Crackdown-on-Left-20171121-0038.html"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"admittedly
fascist","mpid":5,"plid":"https://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/-Duterte-Admits-Fascism-Vows-Defeat-of-Communist-Terrorists-and-Crackdown-on-Left-20171121-0038.html"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:4"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="5" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">admittedly fascist</span></a><span>
upstart dictator Duterte completely unjustifiable
today.</span></p>
<p><span>When Reagan took power in 1980, Marcos had
already been ruling the Philippines under martial law
for eight years, with the full support of former
Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy
Carter. Reagan’s support for an additional six years
meant Marcos and his military could rack up more human
rights abuses with impunity. </span></p>
<p><span>Today, Duterte is well on track to surpass the
body count of his self-proclaimed idol. An </span><a
href="http://www.karapatan.org/Karapatan%E2%80%99s+Statement+on+International+Human+Rights+Day+2017"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"estimated","mpid":6,"plid":"http://www.karapatan.org/Karapatan%E2%80%99s+Statement+on+International+Human+Rights+Day+2017"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:6"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="6" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">estimated</span></a><span>
13,000 people have been killed in the war on drugs;
113 activists have been killed under the U.S.-designed
counterinsurgency program of the Philippine
government; and more than 400,000 people have been
forcibly displaced due to the Philippine military’s
aerial bombing of Marawi City and nearby communities
of indigenous people throughout the southern island of
Mindanao, under the guise of the war on terrorism. At
the rate Duterte is going, this could mean the murder
of 52,000 more people over the remainder of his
six-year term.</span></p>
<blockquote class="content-list-component js-sparkle
pull-quote sparkle--none">
<span class="quote">The Philippines is home to 100
million people, the majority of whom are dirt poor,
largely due to 119 years of U.S. policy toward the
country.</span>
</blockquote>
<p><span>For his part, Trump has bluntly stated his
interest in the Philippines. “It is a strategic
location ― the most strategic location. And, if you
look at it, it’s called the most prime piece of real
estate from a military standpoint,”</span> <a
href="https://nypost.com/2017/11/14/trump-offered-to-turn-over-fugitive-never-talked-human-rights-duterte-spokesman/"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"Trump
said","mpid":7,"plid":"https://nypost.com/2017/11/14/trump-offered-to-turn-over-fugitive-never-talked-human-rights-duterte-spokesman/"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:7"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="8" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">Trump said</span></a> <span>during
his visit to the Philippines in November. No need to
mince words: for the U.S., the Philippines remains, as
it has always been, an essential cog in the U.S. war
machine. </span></p>
<p><span>Never mind that today the Philippines is home to
100 million people, the majority of whom are dirt
poor, largely due to 119 years of U.S. policy toward
the country. With no sustainable domestic industry to
speak of and an economy grossly dependent on exports
in large part because of the colonial legacy left
behind by first Spain and then the U.S., the
Philippines under Marcos began to systematically</span>
<a
href="http://ibon.org/2016/05/anyare-economic-decline-since-marcos/"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"export its
people","mpid":8,"plid":"http://ibon.org/2016/05/anyare-economic-decline-since-marcos/"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:8"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="9" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">export its people</span></a> <span>to
work in foreign countries — and send remittances home
to keep the Philippine economy afloat. Today, poverty
is so severe that </span><a
href="http://ibon.org/2017/07/dutertenomics-lost-cause/"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"nearly 6,000
Filipinos leave the country every single
day","mpid":9,"plid":"http://ibon.org/2017/07/dutertenomics-lost-cause/"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:8"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="10" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">nearly 6,000 Filipinos leave
the country every single day</span></a><span> in
search of work; the Philippine economy would collapse
were it not for</span> <a
href="http://business.inquirer.net/233394/ofw-remittances-5-5-2-3b-may"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"$27 billion in
remittances","mpid":10,"plid":"http://business.inquirer.net/233394/ofw-remittances-5-5-2-3b-may"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:8"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="11" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">$27 billion in remittances</span></a>
<span>these migrant workers send home annually.</span></p>
<p><span>At the turn of the 20</span><span>th</span><span>
century, the U.S. acquired the Philippines as a colony
and relinquished the country only after World War II,
when dependable local puppet leaders could be
installed and economic and military treaties cementing
the Philippines to U.S. interests could be imposed.
These include</span> <a
href="https://internationalpeoplestribunaldotorg.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/international-peoples-tribunal-ipt-2015-final-verdict.pdf"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"patently unequal
military
agreements","mpid":11,"plid":"https://internationalpeoplestribunaldotorg.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/international-peoples-tribunal-ipt-2015-final-verdict.pdf"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:9"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="12" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">patently unequal military
agreements</span></a><span> that tie the Philippines
to the whims of U.S. imperial ambitions: the Mutual
Defense Treaty, Mutual Logistics Support Agreement,
Visiting Forces Agreement and, most recently, the
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. These
agreements grant the U.S. military expansive access to
military facilities, land, water and airspace in the
Philippines for an indeterminate length of time under
the guise of “mutual benefit.” Conveniently, the U.S.
military presence has been focused in resource-rich
regions of the Philippines, facilitating land-grabbing
and extraction of the country’s natural wealth by
multinational corporations. </span></p>
<p><span>Challenges to the constitutionality of the
agreements have been brought to the Philippine Supreme
Court repeatedly as the Filipino masses have staunchly
protested U.S. military presence and operations on
Philippine territory for decades. After all, they have
experienced the brunt of the violence against women
and children, toxic waste, forced displacement from
land and other crimes committed by the U.S. military.
</span></p>
<p><span>For the U.S. in the 1970s and ’80s, propping up
the Marcos regime served the purpose of </span><a
href="https://philpeacecenter.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/us-imperialism-and-the-role-of-overseas-bases-in-us-geopolitical-strategy/"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"securing its
military stronghold in the
Pacific","mpid":12,"plid":"https://philpeacecenter.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/us-imperialism-and-the-role-of-overseas-bases-in-us-geopolitical-strategy/"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:11"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="18" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">securing its military
stronghold in the Pacific</span></a><span> as the
Cold War approached its climax. Neighboring Vietnam
had resoundingly defeated the imperialist American
invaders just a few years earlier. The U.S. and Soviet
Union were engaged in a nuclear arms race. </span></p>
<p><span>Today, Trump needs Duterte and the Philippines to
remain a dependable ally for </span><a
href="http://ibon.org/2014/04/in-crisis-why-the-us-is-pivoting-to-asia-pacific/"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"U.S. imperial
interests in the Asia
Pacific","mpid":13,"plid":"http://ibon.org/2014/04/in-crisis-why-the-us-is-pivoting-to-asia-pacific/"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:12"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="19" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">U.S. imperial interests in the
Asia Pacific</span></a><span> region. Trump’s
current brinkmanship with North Korea means that the
threat of nuclear war looms large. Trump has named
China repeatedly as one of the biggest rivals to U.S.
economic superiority in not only the region but the
world. China, the Philippines and neighboring
countries dispute territorial control of the waters
and islands in the South China/West Philippine Sea,
which contains vast petrochemical and gas deposits,
rich marine biodiversity, and sea lanes that
facilitate much of the global trade and shipping for
the entire region. </span></p>
<p><span>In January, the U.S. Defense Department announced
it had launched the counterterrorism mission “</span><a
href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-military-escalates-war-efforts-in-the-philippines-1516357801?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"Pacific Eagle:
Philippines","mpid":14,"plid":"https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-military-escalates-war-efforts-in-the-philippines-1516357801?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:13"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="20" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">Pacific Eagle: Philippines</span></a><span>,”
which is designated as an Overseas Contingency
Operation, thereby making it eligible for exemptions
from spending limits. The operation will only
strengthen the Duterte regime as it continues to crack
down on vulnerable minority populations.</span></p>
<p><span>The 1 percent may agree with Trump that it is in
the best interests of </span><em><span>their</span></em><span>
America to continue supporting Duterte. The rest of us
should not be complicit in the slaughter.</span></p>
<p><span>Last week, the International Criminal Court
officially opened a </span><a
href="http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2018/02/icc-to-probe-possible-human-rights-violations-in-the-philippines.php"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"preliminary
investigation","mpid":15,"plid":"http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2018/02/icc-to-probe-possible-human-rights-violations-in-the-philippines.php"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:15"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="21" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">preliminary investigation</span></a><span>
into allegations of state-sanctioned killings and
other human rights violations committed by the
Philippine National Police under the direction of
Duterte. </span></p>
<p><span>Now, U.S. lawmakers should join others in the
international community and stop enabling Trump’s
agenda in the Asia Pacific to be propped up by the
rising body count of Filipinos killed under Duterte’s
war on drugs and war on terrorism. Funding for
Duterte’s death squads in the form of U.S. Foreign
Military Financing aid to the Philippine military and
police should be struck altogether from future U.S.
budget allocations.</span></p>
<p><span>Congress should go a step further and study the
effect of such agreements between the U.S. and the
Philippines, such as the Mutual Defense Treaty,
Visiting Forces Agreement and Enhanced Defense
Cooperation Agreement. These provide the basis for
continued support to the Philippine military in the
first place, even when these same state security
forces are implicated in the majority of extrajudicial
killings and other human rights violations. Moreover,
these agreements have been used to </span><a
href="http://www.humanrightsphilippines.net/campaigns/end-the-visiting-forces-agreement/"
data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"shield the U.S.
military","mpid":16,"plid":"http://www.humanrightsphilippines.net/campaigns/end-the-visiting-forces-agreement/"}}"
data-beacon-parsed="true" class="bn-clickable"
data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:17"
data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="22" data-v9y="0"><span
class="bn-clickable">shield the U.S. military</span></a><span>
and its personnel from accountability for crimes
committed in Philippine territory, essentially
subordinating Philippine sovereignty to U.S. military
interests. Is that really any different from Reagan’s
justification for his granting of asylum to a
murderous dictator? </span></p>
<p><span>Can the U.S. depart from over 100 years of
colonial treatment of the Philippines and instead
deploy a framework of mutual respect, mutual benefit
and respect for national sovereignty? Absent this, we
should expect to birth more puppet presidents and
dictators in the Philippines.</span></p>
<p><em><span>Rhonda Ramiro is the vice chair of BAYAN-USA,
an alliance of 20 Filipino organizations in the U.S.
Azadeh Shahshahani (@ashahshahani) is legal and
advocacy director at Project South and a past
president of the National Lawyers Guild</span></em><span>.</span></p>
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