Dear Senators:

We understand you are considering the ratification of a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), setting the terms under which US military forces would be free to visit the Philippines. To pressure the Philippine government to ratify this agreement, Secretary of State Albright and Secretary of Defense Cohen visited Manila last fall, and Ambassador Hubbard constantly lobbied members of the Senate.

At the suggestion of the Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition, a leader of the opposition to the VFA, we are writing to tell you that these high government officials do not speak for all US voters. We, and many others, oppose the VFA. Here are our reasons:

• VFA in all its provisions is a neo-colonial subversion of Philippine national sovereignty; as democratic-minded US citizens, we reject this.
• It gives US troops immunity from criminal prosecution in Philippine courts, and other special privileges; it gives the US military free access to 22 ports and other parts of the country.
• The Philippine constitution bans nuclear weapons on Philippine soil or waters. Washington will neither affirm nor deny presence of nuclear weapons on US warships; thus, giving these ships unlimited access to Philippine ports, as VFA does, is clearly unconstitutional.
• A US military presence has, in the past, caused social and environmental degradation: the prostitution of Philippine women and children and the toxic pollution of Philippine soil and water; this should not be repeated.
• A US military presence in the Philippines has allowed the Pentagon to use that country as a staging area for US military intervention in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf, dragging Filipinos into wars not of their own choosing. In the same connection, US polls show most voters oppose their government acting as global policeman; but that is exactly the role the VFA would facilitate.

The Pentagon's pressure for Senate ratification of the VFA is part and parcel of its post-Cold War program to maintain and strengthen a US military presence of 100,000 troops in the Asia-Pacific region. Its 1995 East Asian Strategy Report tells why: "If the American presence in Asia were removed...our markets and our interests would be jeopardized." Keeping 100,000 troops in Asia to protect corporate interests costs annually 40 billion dollars. We believe this better spent at home on health, housing, and education.

Sincerely,

Tim McGloin, National Coordinator, Friends of the Filipino People
Daniel B. Schirmer, Friends of the Filipino People, Boston

The signers of this letter urge those who agree with it to send a similar message to Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, Room 401 Marsman Bldg., Muelle de San Francisco, Gate 1, Port Area, Manila, Philippines.