kyig6809@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Ken Ilio) (10/31/90)
Recently, GABRIELA, an umbrella organization of several women's
group in the Philippines released the following statement concerning
the US bases in the Philippines. Comments and discussion are
invited in soc.culture.asean:
Bases of exploitation
We, in GABRIELA Commission on Children and Family, sees the
US bases as an antagonist to our cause and we join the other nationalist
groups in the effort to unite the Filipino people in demanding for the
immediate dismantling of the bases. And we shall reiterate why.
First, the US bases provide an excuse for the US government to
interfere in our internal affairs. Last month, the US government
announced as part of its base aid program that they will provide the
Armed Forces of the Philippines with weapons to be used in our govern-
ment's counterinsurgency program. And we all know that it is the
innocent Filipino people who suffer most from this. Worse, our children
are not spared. Children suffer with their families when their place
is caught in a crossfire. Children become internal refugees when
their families are displaced in cases of zoning. In fact, there are
4500 internal refugees in makeshift camps set up in 35 of 73 provinces
nationwide. The result of this are children traumatized by their
experiences in war zones. Not to mention the horror of children
being executed, raped/sexually abused, disappeared and/or detained.
Secondly, the presence of the US bases means the presence of
threat of nuclear attack or counterattack from the enemies of the US.
This is a reality that confronts us now in the face of the Middle
East crisis. If the US so decides to get fully involved in the
Middle East crisis, their military bases in the Philippines is the
most strategic base they can use to attack Iraq thus dragging the
Philippines into a war we do not want. It is enough that Filipino
women working in Iraq and Kuwait suffer from this war. We do not
need to bring the war to our country so that millions more of women
be raped.
At the same time, a war is not necessary in creating a nuclear
explosion. The mere human factor can cause a nuclear explosion
that will kill 5.2 M Filipino men, women and children. Such an
explosion will also cause 270,000 cases of spontaneous abortions,
840,000 cases of genetic disorders and 17,000 square miles of
radioactive land and water. This is the kind of terror the US
bases pose on us - a terror our children will inherit and eventually
live.
Lastly, we must tackle the social cost of the US bases in the
Philippines. The bars and nightclubs around the US military
installations had been the scene of the continuous exploitation of
women and children. Women, in their attempt to overcome their
miserable condition, subject themselves to becoming part of the R
& R of the foreigners. At least 100,000 Filipino women are
prostitutes. And the business of prostitution leads to several
unfortunate consequences. The cases of AIDS in the Philippines has
risen to more than 100 this year. An average of one "souvenir
baby" born daily had caused the increase in the number of abandoned
children. There are 26,000 out-of-school youths in Olongapo City
(where Subic Naval Base is) alone, of which 3000 are abandoned
street children. Growing in a decadent society, these children
have accepted flesh trade as the norm and a number of them engage
in it. There is an estimated 20000 child prostitutes in the
Philippines. In these conditions, children are vulnerable and prime
targets of sexual abuse.
Most of the Filipino women and children living within the
periphery of the US bases have been violated of their rights.
Yet most Filipino people refuse to acknowledge this because it has
been this way for decades. The US bases has created a society
that ignores or tolerates the exploitation of its women and
children. And this is enough reason to dismantle the US military
bases. ----- Ruth H. Manglalan GABRIELA
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It may seem that this is an internal Philippine problem, but
the degradation of Philippine women around the bases are to such
an extent that it requires international attention. Perhaps this
posting could forge some form of solidarity between groups outside
the Philippines and groups working with women's issues in the
Philippines concerning social problems which arise because of the
presence of the US bases in the Philippines. Discussion and
comments are welcome in soc.culture.asean and soon, in soc.culture.
filipino (if ever it will be created).
Ken Ilio
University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign