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Contact Person:
Wigberto E. Tañada Lead Convenor, GFP
GFP Secretariat
3723924, 3724988

THE PHILIPPINE flag should be raised across the country today in half mast as the Filipino nation mourns the death of Ediborah Yap, Martin Burnham and the many countless victims of violence and war in this country.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those killed and wounded in the failed rescue operations against the Abu Sayyaf.

We condemn the violence and banditry perpetuated by the Abu Sayyaf and we share the resolve to pursue and subdue them and bring them to justice.

We continue to raise our concern, however, for other innocent civilians and communities in the war-torn areas that may be caught in the crossfire; the future casualties of the intensified military operations in these areas.

While we join the nation in grief, we feel that it is our duty as Filipinos to continue to raise the critical questions.  Questions, which we feel are being brushed aside just as lives lost are being brushed aside as incident statistics or collateral damage in the intensified war.

The government needs to be interrogated as to who were the parties behind Operation Daybreak? What was the level of US participation in the failed rescue operations? What really transpired during the operations, which eventually lead to the death of the two hostages and the injury to Gracia Burnham?

Questions have to be raised as to how the bandits were able to extricate themselves from the tight cordon of the combined might of US and Philippine forces in Basilan.  

These questions need to be addressed.  Already, the government is using the tragic loss of innocent lives as an excuse for the extension and expansion of Balikatan and the conduct of future military offensives in Mindanao. Already it has used the incident as a justification for continuing US presence in the Philippines.

By the end of July, the six month deadline for the “military exercises,” as defined under the Terms of Reference of Balikatan 02-1, will expire.
Negotiations between the governments of the Philippines and the United States however, not just on a possible extension of the timeframe- but more significantly- an expansion of the coverage and nature of Balikatan, are already under way.

These negotiations for extension and expansion of Balikatan 02-1 and the conduct of other joint military training exercises in the country affirm what we have been saying all along, which is that the real intent of these so called training exercises is to re-establish a more strategic US presence in the country and in Asia under the mantle of the global campaign against terrorism.

We raise our serious concern over the statements made recently by US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz that the US government will be “open to all kinds of possibilities, not just with respect to Balikatan but with respect to the larger peace and order problems in this country”. 

This statement clearly reflects the interventionist character of US government policy in the Philippines.  The negotiations for the extension of Balikatan are being used to justify outright US interference in our national affairs. 

The transformation of Balikatan from ostensibly being mere training exercises and from being a joint military operation to crush a local bandit group which it actually is, into a campaign to restore peace and order in the country is disquieting.

Opening even the possibility for a foreign country to define matters central to our national integrity, such as peace and order, strikes at the heart of our national independence and sovereignty that our heroes fought long and hard for.

On the day of the celebrations of our 104th year of Independence we reiterate our opposition to Balikatan and grieve over the continued presence of US forces in the country.

The continued presence of US forces in the country is an affront to our independence and national sovereignty.

It draws us into an international war and a much larger conflict where Philippine interest becomes subservient to American interest. 

It undermines citizen’s efforts to resolve our own conflicts and engender peace in our country particularly those efforts to secure peace through continuing negotiations with Muslim and communists rebel groups.

We strongly oppose the extension of the timeframe and the expansion of the coverage and nature of Balikatan 02-1.  We oppose the moves by the US and Philippine governments to railroad new agreements such as the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) that will pave the way for strategic presence of US troops in the country.

We feel that six months of joint US-RP military combat operations in Basilan has been long enough.

We assert our belief that the Abu Sayyaf problem cannot be resolved with a mere military solution. We need to recognize that there are deeper social, political, economic and cultural dimensions to the conflict in Mindanao. At the core of which is the problem of poverty and inequality and the issue of the Moro people’s right to self determination.

The military solution against the Abu Sayyaf menace becomes further compromised in the context of persistent assertions of collusion between some leaders in the Military, the local governments and the Abu Sayyaf.   We call on the government to establish an independent body made up of Filipinos with unquestionable integrity to investigate these accusations of wrongdoing.

Furthermore, we raise our serious concern over reports of serious human rights violations against civilians in Basilan being committed by the Philippine military.  We are appalled by the lack of action on the part of the Philippine government to even recognize the problem and address this concern.

We hold the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo accountable for its subservience to American interest and for its propensity to sacrifice national independence and sovereignty in favor of short term economic gains.

Amidst the sadness and grief enveloping our nation today as we commemorate our day of independence, we call on all Filipinos to rise up to the occasion and renew our commitment to the continuing struggle for national sovereignty and true independence. 

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