SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

HATAMAN URGE LOVFA TO TAKE ON US PRESENCE QUESTION

            Supporting calls from local leaders and non-government organizations for transparency behind the continuing presence of American soldiers in Philippine soil,  Anak Mindanao Party-List Representative Mujiv Hataman urge the Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement to convene and address the various issues raised.

            “The different groups questioning the continuing presence of US forces in the country have raised arguments and evidences, valid and credible enough for Congress to take cognizance of the matter. It is imperative therefore on the part of the Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement (LOVFA) to convene and take on the issue,” Hataman, a member of the said Oversight Committee said.

            The LOVFA is Chaired by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago for the Senate Panel, and Cebu Representative Antonio V. Cuenco for the House of Representatives.

            Hataman further noted that reports of US soldiers’ involvement in combat, such as intelligence gathering, evacuation of troops in an encounter, and the particular incident in Maimbung, Sulu early this year where a survivor of  a massacre that killed at least 8 civilians, vowed to have seen American soldiers with the raiding Filipino troops, weigh more than enough to give merit to the issue.

            “We are constantly hounded by these reports yet both the government and the US refuse to give honest, significant answers. All we get are lame excuses, and insults to the Filipino people’s intelligence,” Hataman said.