Joint RP-US military exercises in Capiz kicks off today
Filipino and American troops will hold a 25-day joint military exercise starting today inside a military reservation in Capiz being claimed by an indigenous people's group as part of their ancestral domain.
The RP-US “Balance Piston 09-1” will be held on January 26 to February 20 at the Camp Macario B. Peralta Jr. in Jamindan town in Capiz, according to a press statement issued on Friday by the Army's 3rd Infantry Division (3ID).
The exercises will involve 141 personnel of the 3ID and 31 US soldiers, mostly trainers, Capt. Renante Besa, acting 3ID public information officer, said in a telephone interview.
The training exercises to be held within the training area of the 3ID headquarters will involve 11 training activities including civic-military programs among residents near the military camp.
Besa said the joint military exercise will include “fire and maneuver trainings” and is aimed to enhance the operational capability of 3ID personnel and enhance inter-interoperability of the combined forces. The exercise also seek to “promote goodwill not only among the combined forces but among the populace in the area,” according to the press statement.
The training exercise will provide the 3ID troops opportunity to experience and acquire knowledge and skills on modern military technology and weaponry.
The 3ID statement said the joint exercises in Capiz will be the second to be conducted in the Visayas since 1995. It said the division headquarters was chosen as the venue of the exercises because of its good training facilities and suitable training environment.
The exercises drew condemnation from militant party-list groups and organizations.
“It is ill-advised, dangerous and condemnable,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo in a telephone interview.
Ocampo pointed out the the military exercises will be held just more than a month after the House committee on national cultural communities held a hearing in Roxas City in Capiz where they heard the clamor of the Tumandok indigenous people's group to repeal the presidential proclamation declaring the area where the military camp is located as a military reservation.
The call to the repeal the proclamation is being backed by the Capiz provincial board.
The 3ID occupies 33,310 hectares of land that have been transformed into a military reservation since 1962 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 67 issued by then President Diosdado Macapagal. The land, considered the country's biggest military camp next to Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, covers 16 of the 22 upland villages of Tapaz town and seven villages of Jamindan town, both in Capiz.
“The communities of Tumandok people have repeatedly complained of abuses of soldiers and disruption of their livelihood because of military trainings and operations. And now they want to bring in American troops?,” said Ocampo.
During the hearing conducted in December last year, representatives of the Tumandok complained of the presence of the reservation which allegedly disrupts their lives including their hunting, farming and cultural practices because they were always suspected of being supporters or members of New People's Army rebels.
These allegations have been repeatedly denied by military officials and have accused groups protesting their stay in the area as “front organizations” of the rebel movement which has been traditionally active in the area.
Maj. Gen. Nestor Ochoa, 3ID commander, said in an interview that the allegations dated back during the Martial Law period and in the 1970s. He said they have not received any formal complaint on those allegations in recent years.
Ocampo said the exercises could be a prelude to the “direct participation” of US troops on counter-insurgency operations on Panay Island. He said this could result on the escalation of the armed conflict noting the earlier statement issued by communist rebels that they will attack US troops in “rebel areas.”
Besa said that they have ensured that residents near the training area will be safe and not affected by the joint exercises.
He said they have informed and consulted with officials and residents of the three barangays of Jaena Norte, Agluluwang and Jaena Sur regarding the exercise and the civic action activities.
The 3ID has also conducted meetings and coordination with the Commission National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Philippine National Police, Commission on Human Rights and local government officials to ensure the safety of the participants and the residents, said Besa.