Victor Rodriguez, former campaign manager and executive secretary of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has claimed that the United States (U.S.) has nine military bases in the Philippines.
This is misleading. VERA Files previously debunked similar claims from former president Rodrigo Duterte and his then-Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.
STATEMENT
At the Hakbang ng Maisug prayer rally in Pampanga last June 17, Rodriguez said:
“Wala na rin ho tayong seguridad; compromised na po ang ating security. Sapagkat bukod sa limang bases ng ating mga sundalo, nagdagdag pa ng apat na military base na binigyang access ang mga Amerikano. Bawal din po iyan sapagka’t kung inyong matatandaan noong 1991, sinipa ng gobyerno ng Pilipino sa ating Senado noon ang base militar ng Amerikano. Binalik po ngayon hindi lang po isa, hindi dalawa, kundi siyam na base militar ng Amerikano. Bawal na bawal po iyan.”
(We no longer have security; our security is now compromised. Aside from our five military bases, American [soldiers] were granted access to four additional military bases. This is not allowed. If you will recall, in 1991, the Philippine government kicked out the U.S. bases from the country. But now, they have returned not just one, not just two, but nine U.S. military bases. This is not allowed.)
Source: Pilipinas nating Mahal YouTube page, LIVE: Hakbang ng Maisug Pampanga: Defend the Flag, Freedom Concert and Peace Rally | June 17, 2024, June 17 2024, watch from 4:27:10 to 4:27:57
FACT
The U.S. no longer has permanent bases in the country since 1992. American troops, however, have access to some Philippine military facilities for specific purposes.
This arrangement is allowed under the 1987 Constitution and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), an implementing arrangement under the MDT signed in 2014, grants the U.S. Armed Forces access to the country’s military sites for joint training with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The EDCA also allows U.S. troops to enter “agreed locations” to store equipment, provide humanitarian and disaster relief, and hold security cooperation activities.
The U.S. shut down all its bases in the country with the turnover of the Subic naval base to the government in 1992 after the Philippine Senate rejected a proposal to extend its stay. A year earlier, the U.S. had abandoned Clark Air Base following the eruption of the nearby Mount Pinatubo.
Section 25, Article XVIII of the 1987 Constitution bans foreign military bases, troops, or facilities in the country unless a treaty is approved and ratified by the Senate and, if required by Congress, through a national referendum.
In 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that the EDCA is constitutional. It said the document is an executive agreement, not a treaty, so it does not have to be ratified by the Senate.
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Check out these sources
Official Gazette of the Philippines, The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: Article VIII, Sec. 25, Accessed June 28, 2024
Official Gazette of the Philippines, Speech of President Ramos at the Subic Turnover Ceremony, Nov. 24, 1992
Official Gazette of the Philippines, Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America, Aug. 30, 1951
Presidential Communications Office, Supreme Court decision on EDCA enhances strategic ties between Philippines and U.S., Jan. 11, 2016
Supreme Court of the Philippines, G.R. No. 212426, Jan. 12, 2016
The New York Times, Philippine Senate votes to reject U.S. base renewal, Sept. 16, 1991
The Washington Post, U.S. base rejected in the Philippines, Sept. 10, 1991
Los Angeles Times, Manila Senate Rejects U.S. Pact : Philippines: The 12-11 vote would bar American use of Subic Bay Naval Base. Washington supports Aquino’s call for a popular referendum to overturn the action, Sept. 16, 1991
U.S. Department of Defense, New EDCA Sites Named in the Philippines, April 3, 2023
U.S. Department of State, Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on Enhanced Defense Cooperation, April 28, 2014
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)