MANILA – When former Navy officer Mary Nancy Gadian exposed the alleged violations committed by U.S. forces in Mindanao, she made particular mention of the rising cases of prostitution in and around the military camp in Zamboanga City, where some 600 American troops have been stationed since 2002.
Gadian said American soldiers would often hire the services of prostituted women, often bringing them inside Camp Navarro even in broad daylight. This underscores yet again one of the social costs of foreign-military presence in the Philippines.
"It is the experience of every nation that wherever there is a concentration of American soldiers for a prolonged period of time, exploitation and abuse of the local people ensued," said Emmi de Jesus, secretary-general of Gabriela, the women's group [that seeks to organize women into a political force].
De Jesus cited the "tragic facts" of the decades-long presence of the U.S. military bases in the Philippines. These include an estimated 50,000 prostituted women in Olongapo City and Angeles City, for the "rest and recreation" needs of American soldiers stationed in the former military bases in Subic and Clark.
And no thanks to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the agreement that both Manila and Washington uses to justify the prolonged presence of U.S. forces in the Philippines, the country has had "Nicole" and "Vanessa," – two young Filipino women who were not sex workers and who were reported to have been raped by U.S. military personnel.
These women, de Jesus pointed out, represented "only the reported cases. There are probably more, but hidden from public knowledge," she said.
During the 10 years of the VFA, where joint U.S. military exercises from Balikatan 01 to Balikatan 09 were held, with hundreds of U.S. troops in Philippine territory at any given time, the sex trade industry has flourished along the periphery of areas where these U.S. troops are stationed, de Jesus said.
She pointed out the marked rise in sex trade in Mindanao, where more than 20 Balikatan exercises were held after the VFA was signed.
In Bicol, where Balikatan 09 was held, a reported increase in prostitution in the region had prompted [Philippine] Senator Francis Pangilinan last February to call for an investigation.
Injustice
When local women are sexually abused, especially by U.S. servicemen, they run the risk of courting doubts or aspersions if they complain, not to mention having to deal with the U.S. and Philippine governments conspiring against them.
"The Filipino people are still reeling from the injustice of the acquittal of L/Cpl. Daniel Smith after an obvious manipulation between the Philippine and U.S. governments. Most recently, a 21-year-old Filipina came forward after having been raped by U.S. military personnel from Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG)/ Balikatan," de Jesus said.
Smith was the convicted rapist of Nicole. He was never imprisoned in the country's jails – he was spirited out by the U.S. government in the dead of the night, with the assistance of the Philippine foreign affairs and justice departments, and "held" instead at the U.S. embassy while awaiting his eventual acquittal. After Nicole, the next rape victim by a U.S. serviceman to come out was Vanessa.
On the 10th year of the VFA, Gabriela reiterated its plea for the agreement's abrogation.
"The presence of U.S. troops in Philippine territory is clearly unconstitutional and violative of our country's sovereignty," officials of Gabriela said at a recent Senate committee hearing on VFA.
Gabriela is opposed to the presence of U.S. troops in the country particularly because of its high social cost to women and children.
Since the VFA was approved in 1999, several violations of U.S. soldiers have been reported. Aside from the reported rape cases, Gabriela cited the shooting of Buyong-buyong Isnijal by American soldier Reggie Lane in Basilan, as early as 2002, and the closing of the Panamao District Hospital in Sulu, allegedly ordered by U.S. soldiers led by Master Sergeant Ron Berg in 2007.
Originally published by Bulatlat.com.
