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Bringing Light To U.S. Imperialism’s History In The Philippines
By
Benedict Dimapindan
January 22, 2005
The Philippines and U.S. Imperialism
Kawal Ulanday strolled into the classroom with his long black
hair tied in a ponytail that dangled down to the small of his
back. He was sporting a caramel-colored T-shirt with bold white
letters emblazoned on the front that read, “U.S. TROOPS
OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES.”
Ulanday didn’t exactly fit the typical image of a history
teacher.
But for the dozen in attendance, which included students from
Stanford, the University of Nevada, UC Berkeley and a visiting
professor from New York University, Ulanday gave them a lesson
in history and current events that they very likely wouldn’t
soon forget. It was a lesson that’s “not written
in any history books here,” he said.
Ulanday, chairman of the Filipino-American political activist
group Bayan-USA, led a discussion titled, “The Philippines
and U.S. Imperialism,” at Stanford’s ninth annual “Listen
to the Silence” Asian American community issues conference
on Saturday. He used politically charged rhetoric – calling
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a “puppet
who needs no strings” and saying U.S. imperialism spells “poverty,
corruption, plunder and a backwards economy” for countries
like the Philippines – to inform attendees about the political
restiveness in his homeland and to explain the National Democratic
Movement taking place there.
That movement has attracted millions of Filipinos throughout
the archipelago, Ulanday said, and has recently forged a U.S.
counterpart, Bayan-USA.
History of imperialism
But the roots of this movement run deep. Since the 16th Century,
lasting almost 400 years, the Philippines was a colony of the
Spanish, who systematically claimed vast expanses for their haciendas,
or estates, leaving the indigenous farmers landless. In December
of 1898, Spain ceded control of the Philippines to the United
States for $20 million as negotiated in the Treaty of Paris,
formally ending the Spanish-American War.
“These Europeans were in Paris signing off the destiny
of islands in a whole other place,” Ulanday said.
From February 1899 to July 1902, the often-forgotten Philippine-American
War claimed 250,000 lives, and as a result of the conflict, the
United States had asserted its strength in Asia. The Philippines
remained a U.S. territory until it was granted independence in
1946. But throughout Spain’s rule to that of the Unites
States, Filipinos had continuously sought to organize covertly
and rid the country of foreign occupiers.
The Post-Colonial climate
Even today, activists claim that although the Philippines is
no longer under U.S. control, the effects of imperialism still
linger.
“The economy is backwards, it’s export-oriented,” Ulanday
said. “It’s a country that’s got incredible
mass natural resources, raw materials. Instead of being able
to be industrialized and create its own workforce, what we have
is an export-oriented economy, where it exports all of those
resources, including human labor itself.
“It’s backwards because if we have everything here
to make steel and to make electronics, then why are we selling
those things for very cheap to international companies who sell
us back the finished product at a multiplied price. That forces
the Philippines to take out loans from the International Monetary
Fund and the World Trade Organization that are very hard to pay
back.”
The economy has declined so sharply that the rate of conversion
is currently 55.4 pesos to one U.S. dollar. In addition, more
than 2,000 Filipinos flee the country each day in search of work,
many even heading to war-torn nations, according to Migrante
International, a global alliance of Filipino migrant organizations.
In response to the worsening politico-economic situation in
the Philippines, the National Democratic Movement emerged.
The movement is divided into two sides – the New People’s
Army (NPA) and the Bayan, of which Ulanday spearheads the U.S.
chapter.
The NPA is a militaristic group of farmers and peasants in the
countryside that have chosen to bear arms against the Philippine
army, which has taken their land and ravaged their families,
Ulanday said. “That’s the underground level and that’s
illegal,” he added.
In fact, then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell officially
labeled the NPA a terrorist group in a “Designation of
a Foreign Terrorist Organization” report released in August
2002. State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli re-designated
the NPA a foreign terrorist organization six months ago.
“I am announcing the designation of the Communist Party
of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization, as defined under U.S. law,” Powell
said in the August 2002 report. “I made this decision in
consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the
Treasury after an exhaustive review of this group's violent activities.
”The CPP, a Maoist group, was founded in 1969 with the aim of overthrowing
the Philippine government through guerilla warfare. CPP’s military wing,
the New People’s Army, strongly opposes any U.S. presence in the Philippines
and has killed U.S. citizens there. The group has also killed, injured, or kidnapped
numerous Philippine citizens, including government officials.”
Bayan, however, is comprised of millions of people in the Philippines,
represented by youth and student organizations, workers’ unions,
farmers and women’s organizations.
“Bayan is what we’re part of,” Ulanday said. “We’re
legal and above ground – and we’re not trying to
be illegal, underground. We come from all different sectors,
but we all fight under the national democratic struggle of the
Philippines.”
Bayan and its National Democratic Movement has been actively
working toward an overhaul – a revolution, it seems – of
Philippine politics, particularly because of the alleged human
rights violations and the re-emergence of the U.S. military in
the archipelago during President Macapagal-Arroyo’s tenure.
Karapatan, a Filipino human rights organization, released a
report that said it had chronicled 570 human rights violations
afflicting 9,924 people – about 52 incidents per month – from
January through November 2004. In the first three years of the
Macapagal-Arroyo administration, 3,488 human rights violations
were reported and documented, according to the report.
Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit to the Bay Area this past November
prompted 75 protesters to gather outside St. Ignatius Church
where she was being awarded an honorary degree from the University
of San Francisco and publicly impugn her human rights record.
Further galvanizing the contempt of activists has been the U.S.
military’s return to the Philippines. The Visiting Forces
Agreement, or VFA, paved the way for an American comeback, but
it has also served as a hot-button point of contention for activists.
First, the Philippine constitution prohibits “nuclear
weapons in its territory,” but the VFA doesn’t guarantee
a right of inspection of U.S. military craft. Second, activists
claim that the VFA seemingly indoctrinates extraterritoriality.
The text of the VFA states, “Recognizing the responsibility
of the United States military authorities to maintain good order
and discipline among its forces, Philippine authorities will,
upon request by the United States, waive their primary right
to exercise jurisdiction except in cases of particular importance
to the Philippines.”
“A lot of people might say that the Philippines being
heavily militarized by U.S. troops is OK because the Philippine
army is weak and we need good protection, and it’s kind
of good to have U.S. presence there and make us safe,” Ulanday
said. “But when you really look at the situation, what
ends up happening is human rights violations go way up, because
these treaties give them immunity to so many things. It’s
so unfair.”
In January 2002, about 660 U.S. soldiers arrived in the southern
region of the islands to train the Philippine counterterrorist
regiment to combat the Abu Sayyaf, a small group of Muslim rebels
with suspected ties to Al Qaeda. Over the next year, the number
of American troops had jumped to more than 1,200.
In addition, Macapagal-Arroyo administration has received approximately
$400 million in military assistance from Washington since 2001.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, the Philippines has become
the top recipient of American military aid in Asia and fourth largest
beneficiary in the world.
Contact Benedict Dimapindan at bend1@stanford.edu
