On the 18th Anniversary of the Abrogation of the US-RP Bases Agreement

Members of militant youth group League of Filipino Students (LFS) held a lightning rally in front of the United States Embassy in Manila today in protest of “continued US intervention in the Philippines.” Ridon said, “The LFS had always been correct when it demanded the expulsion of US troops then, and this was clear proof that the Philippine government merely kowtows to US interests. The same is true until now, with the Visiting Forces Agreement.”

According to Ridon, the policies being implemented in the country today serve US interests at the expense of the Filipino people.

“After a decade since it was ratified, we ask what the people has gotten out of the VFA. The supposed aid that is being given by the US troops in Mindanao serve nothing but a smokescreen to their intervention in the country. It is nothing if it costs us our freedom,” said Ridon.

The VFA is Proof of RP’s Continuing Puppetry to the US
“The presence of US troops in the Philippines undermines the supposed sovereignty and independence of the country, even more so if that presence is permanent,” said Terry Ridon, secretary general of the LFS.
This was the statement of the LFS during the Anti-VFA protest rally on September 16th, the anniversary of the 1991 Senate abrogation RP-US Bases Agreement. Such abrogation expelled US troops from the Philippines and dismantled all its military bases, including Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Airfield.

“The continued implementation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and other unequal treaties with the US have taken away the victories of decades worth of Filipino struggle against US intervention such as the dismantling of US Bases in 1991,” said Ridon.

US Imperialism is the Stumbling Block for RP’s Economic Development
“Our country shall never develop as long as we serve the economic and military interests of the US, as long as we have a government that is subservient to foreign demands,” added Ridon. ###

__________________________
Click the thumbnails to view the full images