Estrada Starts US Trip with little Chance for Concrete Results

Philippine President Joseph Estrada will leave on Monday night for an eight-day official visit to the United States where he is expected to discuss some important issues with ranking US officials, congressmen and business leaders.

According to Philippine officials, the issues of security and economic cooperation will be the theme of the president's US visit, while Estrada is also expected to discuss environmental issue and some domestic problems with US officials.

First on the agenda is the security relations between the Philippines and the United States, said Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon.

Estrada is credited by Washington with the ratification by the Philippine Senate in 1999 of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which reopened security cooperation between the two countries after the expulsion in 1992 of US military bases in the Philippines. The VFA has paved the way not only for more frequent larger joining Philippines-U.S. military exercises but also for U.S. military assistance in modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines and in enhancing their military capability.

During the visit which will be formally concluded on July 31, Estrada will push for a deal that would involve the transfer of more U.S. patrol helicopters and ships to the Philippines to address the country's domestic security requirements, said some analysts.

With the United States being the country's major investment source and top trading partner, economic cooperation will be another major topic. During his visit, Estrada will reiterate the commitment of the Philippines to a free-trade and free-investment regime.

Aside from large economic issues concerning investment flow into the Philippines and the expansion of economic relations, Estrada is also expected to raise issues like the dumping of US chicken parts in the Philippines.

Environmental issues, though not specifically the cleaning up of the toxic waste left by the US forces in their former bases, are also on the agenda.

"It will be a joint statement to cooperate on environment, including bases and to work on a framework agreement. We will take up the details of that," said Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon.

Siazon said both sides are discussing a "diplomatic way" to resolve their differences on the matter. "It's not going to be easy. Instead of finding fault, what we should do is to solve the problem," he said.

Estrada is under pressure at home to discuss with US President Bill Clinton the issue of toxic wastes left behind by the United States military at the former Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base, which have reportedly killed more than 100 people since 1995.

"Estrada must not fear making the pitch because he will be backed up by findings of US government agencies that indeed their government had left behind hazardous wastes in the Philippines," said Philippine congressman Juan Miguel Zubiri.

A US Government Audit Office report concluded that US military commanders would have gone to jail if the environmental violations had been committed on the US soil.

On last Thursday, more than 200 victims of toxic waste contamination announced that they would file a 102-billion-US- dollar class suit against the US government.

The victims are also seeking 52 billion pesos (1.3 billion dollars) from the Philippine government for tolerating the presence of toxic wastes in the former US bases and demanding their immediate cleanup.

Estrada is also expected to discuss some domestic problems like the conflict in Mindanao, where government troops have launched massive attacks on the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MLF) since April and overrun most of the MILF camps.

Some analysts said the United States will encourage President Estrada to seek a negotiated settlement of the conflict, setting the stage for the launching of an economic rehabilitation plan for Mindanao.

Given the issues that are likely to be raised in the visit and the fact that President Clinton will step down from office in next January, analysts said the public should not expect many concrete results from the forthcoming visit.

However, they said, the visit may help improve the Philippines' image in the world and strengthen President Estrada's position in dealing with domestic issues like the Mindanao conflict and the rebound of the economy.



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