Progressives back VFA termination

By:  KEN E. CAGULA

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Progressive groups are supported the government’s move to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States (US).

These groups have long opposed to the presence of American troops in the country.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced on Tuesday, that the US Embassy’s deputy chief of mission have already received the termination notice, which will take effect after 180 days or about six months.

As Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) started its 180-day countdown to VFA termination, it said that the public should be vigilant and oppose possible reversal and renegotiation by the Philippine government, as well as “pressure and maneuvers” coming from the US.

Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr., in a statement on Wednesday, said the termination of the VFA is “an opportunity for the Philippines to move away from its military dependence on the US.”

Following the country’s termination of the VFA, Bayan urged the government to also cancel the upcoming Balikatan military exercises in April.

Last January, President Duterte threatened to terminate the VFA, expressing his anger over the US government’s decision to cancel the visa of Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who previously led the bloody anti-drug campaign when he was the police chief.

Such “trivial” reason for terminating the two-decade-old military accord, however, is frustrating on the part of Moro group Suara Bangsamoro, saying that the government should recognize that human rights violations against Filipinos have been committed by US soldiers under the VFA.

She explained that human rights defenders have been submitting reports to the Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement (LOVFA) in previous administrations on several documented cases of human rights violations.

These included violations committed in Moro communities in Mindanao during Balikatan exercises.

“We submitted several cases of the presence of US troops during combat operations where they were seen leading AFP troops from 2002 to 2009, and were identified by victims of shooting, maiming, and killing,” Lidasan said.

“Our communities and people were used [for their] target practice. We have reports of individuals being shot during target practice and residential areas bombed due to ‘misfiring’,” she added.

Lidasan also deplored the inability of the Philippine government to hold the US troops accountable for their “atrocities” against Filipinos under such agreement.

“That’s why it is insulting, especially to the victims, (to know) that President Duterte is giving more emphasis on the trivial reason of cancelling the US visa of Sen. Bato as a ground for abrogating the VFA,” Lidasan said.

Meanwhile, progressive groups also called for the termination of other military agreements with the US, such as the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Bayan also underscored that terminating the VFA should not mean rushing into a new military agreement with another foreign power such as China.

“The defense of the Philippines, including the West Philippine Sea, falls on the Philippine Government and the Filipino people, not on any foreign power with its own agenda. We cannot enter into a military agreement with China since we have a conflict in the West Philippine Sea,” Reyes added. (davaotoday.com)

Coronavirus: Sharp increase in deaths and cases in Hubei

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• Coronavirus outbreak

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Image captionThe WHO has said a vaccine will likely be found but it will take time

Some 242 deaths from the new coronavirus were recorded in the Chinese province of Hubei on Wednesday - the deadliest day of the outbreak.

There was also a huge increase in the number of cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed with the virus.

Hubei has started using a broader definition to diagnose people - which accounts for most of the rise in cases.

Until Wednesday's increases, the number of people diagnosed in Hubei - where the outbreak emerged - was stabilising.

But the new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the national death toll above 1,350 - with almost 60,000 infections in total.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party secretary in Hubei, Jiang Chaoliang, has been replaced by the Shanghai party chief, Ying Yong, according to state media. The party chief of the capital city Wuhan has also been relieved of his duties.

It is the first major change of Hubei party officials since the outbreak began.

Earlier this week, a number of health officials were "removed" from their jobs.

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What is the new diagnosis method?

The province - which accounts for more than 80% of overall Chinese infections - now includes "clinically diagnosed cases" in the number of confirmed cases.

This means it includes those showing symptoms, and having a CT scan showing an infected lung, rather than relying only on the standard nucleic acid tests.

Of the 242 new deaths in Wuhan, 135 are such "clinically diagnosed" cases.

That means, even without the new definition, the number of deaths in Hubei on Wednesday was 107 - a new high for the province.

The province's 14,840 new infections include 13,332 clinically diagnosed cases.

Overall, the province now has 48,206 confirmed infections.

What is the latest with the cruise ships?

A cruise ship carrying more than 2,000 people has docked in Cambodia - after it was turned away by five ports over fears that some passengers might be infected with the virus.

The MS Westerdam arrived on Thursday morning after Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines and Thailand had all refused to accept the ship - despite having no sick patients on board.

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Meanwhile, another 44 cases have been confirmed on the Diamond Princess, which is in quarantine in Yokohama, Japan.

The increase means 218 people of the 3,700 people on board the ship have caught the virus. Not everyone has been tested yet.

People with the virus are taken to hospitals on land to be treated, while those on board are largely confined to their cabins.

Media captionCoronavirus quarantine: 'I haven't had freedom for a month'

What does the WHO say?

The WHO said it was "way too early" to predict the end of the epidemic. "This outbreak could still go in any direction," the director-general warned.

The WHO has been able to track down the source of transmission in all but eight of the 441 cases of the virus outside China, its head of emergencies Michael Ryan said.

He added: "I think it's way too early to try to predict the beginning, the middle or the end of this epidemic right now."

On Tuesday top Chinese epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said the epidemic should peak in China this month before subsiding.

Four possible vaccines were being funded for pre-clinical development, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told reporters.

"I think we will find a vaccine," she said. "It will take some time. A vaccine cannot be made overnight."

In other developments:

• The world's largest mobile phone showcase, Mobile World Congress (MWC), has been cancelled, organisers in the Spanish city of Barcelona have confirmed
• The US Centers for Disease Control said it was preparing for the coronavirus to possibly "take a foothold in the US". Thirteen cases have been confirmed in the US
• About 300 employees have been evacuated from Singapore's biggest bank, DBS, after one person fell ill with the coronavirus. All 300 had been working on the same floor and were sent home
• Formula 1's Chinese Grand Prix, due to take place in Shanghai on 19 April, has been postponed
• In its latest measure to try to halt the spread, China said it would stagger the return of children to school. Several provinces have closed schools until the end of February