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| PH-Australia VFA | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 5 2012, 08:31 PM (2,992 Views) | |
| THE_NEWS_MAN | Jun 6 2012, 09:41 PM Post #21 |
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sir number 4 i think.masyadong mainit ang US sa mnga mata nang nagrarally so i guess they would try a different approach kaso who knows baka magrally parin un mnga kaliwa because of this.we have more to gain than Aussie wala naman sila makukuha sa atin.we need them as a ally and sad to say security umbrella. |
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| THE_NEWS_MAN | Jun 6 2012, 09:48 PM Post #22 |
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Joker, 6 senators reject VFA with Australia MANILA, Philippines – Seven senators, just one vote shy of what’s needed to torpedo the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and Australia, voted to reject treaty ratification on Wednesday as Congress prepared to adjourn sine die until July 23, when another round of voting is scheduled. Senator Joker Arroyo led six of his peers in rejecting ratification of the VFA, citing Australia’s disregard for Philippine interest in several matters, notably for continuously banning the country’s fruit exports. “The Senate cannot simply concur in treaties if other contracting countries have no consideration of the country’s interest,” Arroyo said in his interpellation. The Senate approved the treaty on second reading with 7 negative votes and 14 affirmative votes. According to Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, the third reading of SRN 788 will be done when session resumes on July 23. Under the Constitution, the Senate has the sole power to ratify any treaty or international agreement entered into by the Executive Department and a 2/3 vote of the present members of the Upper Chamber is needed to adopt it. “Like the impeachment trial, the treaty needs 2/3 votes of the members of the Senate. As seven senators voted against the agreement at this stage, it only needs one more vote to finally reject the treaty,” Arroyo said in an interview after the voting. The senator recalled that when he entered the Senate in 2001, one of the first matters taken up was the issue of Manila’s mango exports to Australia. “During that time, Philippine mangoes were banned and Sen. (Edgardo) Angara was fuming mad because with his experience in agriculture, he knew that the country’s mangoes were accepted in the US, Japan and other advanced countries. “Today when I asked Senator Angara about the problem, he replied that Australia has not only banned mangoes but also bananas and pineapples, and that the country’s balance of trade with Australia was P500 million in imports and only P50 million in exports, meaning, it is lopsided,” he argued. Aside from Arroyo, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Sergio Osmena III, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Aquilino Pimentel III, Manuel Villar and Ralph Recto opposed the measure. Source read more sa source marami p po yan hinati ko nalang kasi its to long and it might eat up alot of space.btw they hold our bananas and mangoes during 2001 past is past theres a reason why did they hold the goods.in signing this treaty i do think that pass problem with be resolve and the alliance would benefit us not only from the military sector,but also for our exporting sector. |
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| Uruzu | Jun 6 2012, 09:59 PM Post #23 |
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What a joke. Grouping (relatively minor) trade disputes together with much more important and urgent issues, such as the nation's security, sovereignty and right to develop precious natural resources. Do those politicians really expect the public to buy into their nonsense? |
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| THE_NEWS_MAN | Jun 7 2012, 04:36 AM Post #24 |
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Ratification of Philippine-Australia pact stalled at Senate The Senate approved Wednesday on second reading the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (Sovfa) between the Philippines and Australia, but decided to postpone until late July the chamber’s final ratification. Senators Joker Arroyo and Miriam Defensor-Santiago led the charge against Sovfa, succeeding in eliciting the sympathy of five more of their colleagues in postponing the third reading vote scheduled Wednesday. Senator Loren Legarda, the chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, still managed to gain the support of 13 of the 21 senators present on the last day of the second regular session of the 15th Congress. That meant she was still two votes short of the necessary two-thirds of the Senate membership of 23 to ratify the agreement. The Senate, which ratifies treaties made by the sitting President with other nations, requires at least two-thirds of its membership, or 16, to ratify the agreement. Citing history and the regional tensions in the South China Sea, Arroyo and Santiago raised past and current issues with Australia in blocking the treaty’s ratification. Also voting to approve the measure were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Franklin Drilon, Vicente Sotto III, Pia Cayetano, Ramon Revilla Jr., Teofisto Guingona III, Antonio Trillanes IV, Edgardo Angara, Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio Honasan. Voting no along with Arroyo and Santiago were Senators Aquilino Pimentel III, Ralph Recto, Sergio Osmeña III, Manuel Villar and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Pangilinan has reserved the right to explain his vote once the resolution is taken up on third reading when the upper chamber resumes session on July 23. The five-year-old agreement is contained in Senate Resolution No. 788, which concurs with the ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the governments of the Philippines and Australia. The agreement was entered into by President Benigno Aquino on Dec. 23, 2010, and subsequently forwarded to the Senate for ratification. Source |
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| THE_NEWS_MAN | Jun 17 2012, 07:41 PM Post #25 |
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Enrile says PH needs VFA with Australia for security cover MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile urged his colleague at the Upper House to ratify the Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia or Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOFVA) to help strengthen the country's security cover from external threat. “In my view, it will be ratified. Naniniwala ako na kailangan natin ito kasi kapos tayo sa security cover sa ating bansa, at hindi natin kaya magsarili (I believe that we need this because we lack security cover and we can't be independent). Since we are modernizing our armed forces, we need the help of other country like Australia to augment needed resources for our security,” Enrile said in a radio interview Sunday. Enrile also warned for possible repercussion on trade, security, and bilateral relations with Australia if the Philippine Senate rejects SOVFA. “The repercussion is big. Australia is a friendly country, the volume of our trade with them is big. They helped us in the last world war. We cannot simply turn our back on those who have helped us so. They helped us build the highway in Samar. The impact is huge if we don't ratify it," he said. “We ratify it or not, that is our call, tayo ang nangangailangan nyan (we need it),” he added. Meanwhile, Senator Loren Legarda, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, asked President Benigno Aquino to help in the concurrence of the agreement and its being a priority measure by the Palace was reiterated during their conversation on the celebration of the Independence Day recently. Legarda said the President had thanked her for sponsoring the SOVFA, and then told her that ratifying it is important. “Dapat kausapin ni President ang mga kaalyado nya... kung hindi maipapasa tatanggapin ko, basta ako i will defend it sa floor (The President need to talk to his allies...if the Senate does not muster the votes, I will accept it, but I will defend it on the floor),” Legarda said. She said the voting on the SOVFA is like the conscience voting in the impeachment trial that removed former Chief Justice Renato Corona from the Supreme Court. Recently, seven senators rejected the agreement on second reading before Congress adjourned sine die last June 6, 2012 with Senators Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Sergio Osmena III, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Aquilino Pimentel III, Manuel Villar, and Ralph Recto opposing the measure. Source |
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| THE_NEWS_MAN | Jun 18 2012, 03:40 AM Post #26 |
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Enrile warns of repercussions if Senate won't concur with SOVFA MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile warned yesterday of repercussions if the Senate fails to give its concurrence on Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) between Australia and the Philippines. Enrile said that Senate concurrence on the ratification of SOVFA is badly needed now that the country’s defense has to be beefed up following the Philippine’s conflict with China over Scarborough Shoal. “We need more allies as we work on our own capacity to improve our own defense,” Enrile said over dzBB. “The repercussions will be huge if the SOVFA is not ratified. Australia is a friendly country, we have a big trade partnership with them and they were our ally when we fought in the last World War. It would be like abandoning a friend who has helped you for the longest time,” he said. “It will be a very hard issue for us to face… and the signal of its impact will be huge as well,” Enrile explained. Enrile said it would be up to Malacañang to work with allies in the Senate to campaign for its concurrence. “It’s an administration measure,” he said. According to Senate foreign relations committee chairperson Loren Legarda, President Aquino told her during the vin d’honneur in Malacañang the need for the Senate to concur with the agreement. “All he said was, thank you for sponsoring SOVFA because it was really important,” she said. “It’s up to Malacañang now… It’s up to them and their allies if they want to pass it. Otherwise, I am just going to do my job… That’s the dynamism of what the Senate is,” Legarda said. The Senate failed to concur with the passage of before Congress went into sine die adjournment early this month. Seven senators including Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Joker Arroyo objected to the SOVFA. Enrile is baffled why Santiago is against SOVFA when she voted in favor of the VFA between the United States and the Philippines. “(It’s) Either you ratify or not,” Enrile said. “We are the ones who needed it.” In the VFA between the United States and the Philippines, Legarda explained that she voted against the agreement because it had no provision on the cleanup of toxic wastes in Clark and Subic and lacked clear guidelines for criminal jurisdiction. Legarda said she is pushing for SOVFA now because it is an improved version of the VFA with the US. “We especially need this now,” she said. Legarda added that there is also a different security situation and geo-political landscape in the country today compared to 1999. “There is a different threat then and now,” she said. SOVFA was ratified by the Australian parliament, and non-concurrence by the Philippines might strain the relations between the two countries, Legarda said. She noted that the Philippines does not have enough resources to modernize the AFP and SOVFA will greatly help Philippine soldiers who will be given opportunity to train and study alongside their Australian counterparts. Provisions to ensure that the Philippines will have an advantage on the issue of criminal jurisdiction were also included in the SOVFA to avoid a repeat of the case of US Corporal Daniel Smith, who was accused of raping a Filipina in 2005. Smith was eventually acquitted after the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the lower court and ordered his immediate release. Source HIHIH MAY NATATAKOT NA |
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| Samir_Duran | Jun 18 2012, 07:35 AM Post #27 |
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Well, they have to choose: National Security or getting even. They have to think fast before it becomes too late. |
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| paratorpe | Jun 18 2012, 09:21 AM Post #28 |
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The US MDT is enough, if there is something wrong here is the slow AFP modernization that can't even protect its citizens, The more we let other countries military in, the more we become a hot target and lazy to modernize on our own. |
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Modernization should prioritize: Patrol Ships with air/sub/ship detection, fast & lightly armed for Navy. Surface Attack Aircraft with anti ship/sub attack capability for Airforce. SAM with Radars, Close AA battery capable of shooting ground targets too for Army. This triangle defense will work together and protect us from external threats. | |
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| THE_NEWS_MAN | Jun 19 2012, 08:51 PM Post #29 |
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Status of Forces with Australia This is why he believes the Philippines would benefit from a proposed military cooperation deal with Australia. The Senate, however, has yet to ratify the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA). Honasan said that although he's personally against the SOVFA, the Philippines has no choice but to approve it given its weak military strength. "My heart tells me, hindi naman tama 'yan. But my brain tells me, what choice do we have?" he said. Honasan added that China's recent denial of a reported commitment to withdraw its vessels from Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Island, should serve as a "wake-up call" for the Philippines. The Philippines has withdrawn its vessels due to bad weather. "Kung lagi na lang ganito, naaawa ako sa sarili natin," he said. However, he is against bringing back Philippine ships to the area because it would be costly. Honasan stressed that the Philippines must continue negotiating with China and exploring the possibility of a joint exploration of the Scarborough Shoal while beefing up its defenses. "Magpalakas tayo para hindi tayo magmukhang kawawa," he said. "Huwag tayong umaasa sa wala." Source |
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| Samir_Duran | Jun 20 2012, 08:03 AM Post #30 |
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That is what I am saying. It may not be good but do we have a choice? We need to be decisive or it will be too late. |
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