End diplomatic ties with US, Aquino told

MANILA, Philippines--Militant urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) told President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to sever the country's diplomatic relations with the United States of America in the light of a US naval ship mishap that wrecked the Tubbataha Reef, as well as the continuing military and political intervention, and most importantly, the imposition of neoliberal policies on the Philippine economy.

Such relations, according to the group, have trapped millions of Filipinos in poverty for generations ever since the American occupation of the Philippines in the dawn of the last century.

Notice of eviction

Meanwhile, the group plans to send a letter to US President Barack Hussein Obama II through the US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas, Jr. which says that "the United States has no moral ascendancy to maintain any diplomatic establishment in the country." Along with the letter is a Notice of Eviction to the US Embassy in the Philippines.

According to Kadamay national chairperson Gloria Arellano, “the US  has long pretended to be the nicest ally the Philippine has ever had, while in fact, it has been the real culprit behind not only the destruction of our environment, but of the lives of millions of Filipinos as it imposed single-handedly economic policies to the detriment of the poor.”

"While the discreet military intervention has been exposed by several US drones and warships that ran aground the Philippine territory, the United States has actually maintained its military forces in the barracks of Camp General Basilio Navarro in Zamboanga City, and joined in operations of the Philippine Army in complete violation of the Philippine Constitution," Arellano said Kadamay in the letter.

“The United States has kept a long list of crimes against the Filipino people,” remarked Arellano claiming that above anyone else, the urban poor who have received wave after wave of notices of eviction from their communities have the best right to issue the same notice of eviction to the US embassy.

Take seriously

Kadamay also advised President Obama to take their message seriously for the Filipino people will one day found it necessary to physically uproot the Embassy from its place as they gradually felt the pangs in their daily lives of neoliberal policies dictated by US-controlled imperialist institutions.

The group cited that the privatization of public utilities and services, and the demolition of homes of Filipino urban poor due to the Public-Private Partnership program, as well as the deregulation of the oil industry and the liberalization of the local market which keep the prices of basic commodities unaffordably high have made everyday a big burden for the poor Filipinos to bear.

Kadamay also called on the Aquino administration to immediately junk the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States.

Only resort

"There is no other resort but for the Philippines to end its economic, political and military relations with the imperialist United States to achieve prosperity that is long-desired by Filipino people," Arellano said. ###

Reference: Gloria 'Ka Bea' Arellano, Kadamay national chair, 0921.392.7457