WHEREAS, Article XVIII, Section 25 of the Philippine Constitution states, "After the expiration in 1991 of the Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America concerning Military Bases, foreign military bases, troops or facilities shall not be allowed in the Philippines except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate and, when the Congress so requires, ratified by majority of the votes cast be the people in a national referendum held for that purpose, and recognized as a treaty by the contracting State";

WHEREAS, Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states, "The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adapats the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations";

WHEREAS, President Macapagal-Arroyo recently approved "Kalayaan-Aguila 2002," a joint Philippine-American military training exercise in Basilan and Zamboanga which, under the guise of war exercises, allows for the direct engagement of American soldiers in actual combat against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG);

WHEREAS, the said joint military exercise is aimed at annihilating the ASG under the pretext of on-the-job training for Filipino and American soldiers following the Philippine military's failure to crush the festering ASG problem;

WHEREAS, a total of 660 American soldiers are expected to arrive in the country, of which 200 will be deployed in Basilan while 100 troops will be sent to Zamboanga City where the ASG is known to be likewise operating;

WHEREAS, the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951 and the Visiting Forces Agreement of 1999 do not contain any provision allowing the US militry to directly engage in combat operations in the Philippines;

WHEREAS, the scope of the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951 primarily addresses external threats and thus cannot be used to justify US intrusion or involvement into the internal security operations of the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the House of Representatives direct the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to conduct an immediate inquiry into the entry, presence, and extent of operations of United States military advisers and troops into the country;

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the House of Representatives enjoin the Executive Department to re-evaluate and reconsider the latter's decision allowing the entry and direct participation in AFP military operations of US troops in the country as this violates Article 18, Section 25 of the Constitution.

Adopted, 16 January 2002.

Signed,

SATUR C. OCAMPO
LIZA L. MAZA
CRISPIN B. BELTRAN
APOLINARIO LOZADA
MARCELINO LIBANAN
TED FAILON
ROZZANO RUFINO BIAZON
DIDAGEN DILANGALEN
GREGORIO IPONG
ROLEX SUPLICO
NEREUS ACOSTA