Davy Rose F.

Falceso
III-BS Accountancy
RE-OPENING OF THE U.S. MILITARYY BASE
IN THE PHILIPPINES
Philippines had been colonized by other countries for almost four centuries. Hundreds of
years that weve been living dependent on our colonizers and controlled by their rules and
regulations. More than century had already passed when we finally proclaim our independence,
but in reality were still colonized by them in many other ways. Instead of keeping hatred to our
colonizers, we are still grateful to them because of their influences, either good or bad, to us.
Many believe that whatever were enjoying right now is because of their help.
One of our colonizers is the Americans, but we treat them on the contrary, we treat them
as our saviors or friends. Whenever were facing difficulties in our economy, we always seek
help from them and at the same way they offer help to us. A good example of this scenario is
their numerous help and aids for our countrymen who were the victims of the typhoon Haiyan.
Some viewed their actions in a positive way but some critics concluded that it may be their way
to bring back the trust of the Filipinos and that they can start their plans on re-opening the U.S.
military base here in the Philippines.
So, what is in it for us to know about the U.S. military base and the effect to us if it will be
re-opened? In November 1991, the United States transferred Clark Air Base to the Philippine
government. Philippines were used as the base of the military army of the U.S. during the World
War II. With the United States militarys withdrawal from Clark, the base was systematically
looted and was left abandoned for several years. In June 2012, the Philippine government,
under pressure from Chinese claims to their seas, agreed to the return of American forces to
Clark. Last August 29-30, the defense secretary of U.S. government, Chuck Hagel, came here
in the Philippines with the purpose of formulating the Framework Agreement for Increased
Rotational Deployment and Enhance Defense Cooperation. U.S. government increased the
support to our military, from $30 million last year to $50million this year. Last October 11-12,
Barack Obama was expected to come here in the Philippines but due to some circumstances, it
wasnt pushed through. Along with those incidents and activities, theres a grapevine that the
military base of U.S. here in the Philippines will be re-opened. Putting up a big military base in
the Philippines will be their way to also conquer or control the region in Asia-Pacific.
I firmly disagree on the re-opening of the U.S. military base here in the Philippines
because of some reasons. First, I want to maintain the peace that were experiencing right now
Davy Rose F. Falceso
III-BS Accountancy
or to improve it but not to worsen it. If our country will be the military base of America, the
possibility of being involved on their fights to other countries is high. Many innocent people
might be sacrificed just for the fulfillment of their selfish desires. Its been a rumor that after
building a military base in our country, Americans are planning to control other countries in the
Asia-Pacific such as Vietnam, Singapore and many more.
Second, I want our government not to be dependent of other countries. From the
different issues and controversies that were facing right now, I want our government to learn
from it and make plans and decisions wisely for the benefit of many Filipinos. I believe that
Filipinos are so great in so many ways, just like Manny Pacquiao who gave us hope of
achieving something big after he won against Rios last November 24. I believe that our
president, Benigno Aquino III, has the capabilities of leading us. Of course, he cant do that
alone, he needs help from his subordinates and from us. You can determine if a plant is healthy
through its parts. Once a branch is destroyed you should cut it to maintain its beauty and time
will come that another branch will grow to cover the damage and bring back again its beauty. It
means that those government officials who are not faithful to their duties and responsibilities
should be removed because there are many other people who are willing to take their places
who in fact have more potential to lead. Of course, a plant will not only grow by itself, we need
to water it, cultivate the soil and put fertilizer into it. It means that we, Filipinos, should not waste
our time criticizing faults and mistakes of others but instead take actions. Students should study
wisely, educators should teach passionately, farmers should plant crops patiently and
businessman should provide goods and service with quality. Through those simple acts we can
give inspirations to the government officials to perform better because its worth it. And once, we
are sure to ourselves that weve done our part as a citizen of our country, you can extend by
inspiring others to do the same thing. Caring about our country is not only through doing good
things sometimes you have to go beyond like criticizing or giving comments to our government. I
know it sounds bad to hear criticisms but though it hurts, it really helps and results to
improvement.
Since, the issue is all about re-opening the military base of the American here in the
Philippines; it has a lot to do with our government, economy and security. Above, I cited my
point of views regarding our government and part of making change to our government is by
improving our economy and security. There are a lot of ways on how to improve our country,
actually there a lot of opportunities here in the Philippines. One way of improving economy in a
business side is to maximize the resources available to provide the needs and wants of our
Davy Rose F. Falceso
III-BS Accountancy
country such as to make products out of the grass that is not of help to our environment and
many more. Regarding the security, we also need to make plans on how to strengthen the
Philippine Army and I leave those planning and decision-making to those people responsible for
it. There are so many ways to improve our security, I hope that government will consider and
choose the best out of them.
To conclude, I want to emphasize that Philippines is a great country and we, Filipinos
should be the first to believe on that. We are not a puppet of anyone neither their servants
because in the law of humanity we are equal. I hope that Philippines can show the world its real
power and its real meaning. And that will be made possible through the collaboration of each
one of us. Be the start of the change that youve been dreaming.