Byline: ARIS R. ILAGAN

Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr. batted yesterday for the inclusion of joint military training programs in the RP-US Balikatan that will focus on the protection of the country?s marine resources to ensure a program with ?national relevance.?

In his speech at the formal opening ceremonies of the RP-US Balikatan 02-2 held at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Guingona said that he will recommend to the executive committee of the National Security Council (NSC) that it include in its agenda a proposal for the Balikatan to conduct a joint military training on the protection of the country's territorial waters.

According to Guingona, some $50 billion worth of marine resources are lost to illegal poaching and illicit fishing activities because the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) cannot secure the country's sea borders.

Due to serious budgetary constraints, the Philippine Navy has failed to acquire modern patrol crafts that can efficiently outrun illegal fishing vessels.

The delay in the implementation of the P300 billion AFP modernization also enabled the Philippine Navy to implement rehabilitation on most of its naval assets, many of which were already forced to retire during the recent years.

Among those who attended the opening ceremonies were Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes; Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson of the IIIMEF; United States Ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone; Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vice chief of staff; and Chief Supt. Reynaldo Berroya, director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Office 3.

Philippine Army Col. Horacio Lactao and US Marine Col. Brendan Kearney, co-directors of the RP-US Balikatan 02-2, led the unfurling of the Mutual Defense Board flag which signaled the opening of the joint military training to be conducted in Central Luzon.

At least 2,700 US military personnel will take part in the Balikatan 02-2 which will be conducted in Clark Air Base in Pampanga and Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija.

Reyes

Defense Secretary Angelo T. Reyes said yesterday that the implementation of vital civil engineering projects worth $4 million in several areas of Basilan Island has started, following the arrival of United States military engineers taking part in the RP-US Balikatan 02-1 joint training exercises.

Reyes said he had told Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Diomedio Villanueva that the military must use "local manpower" in the Balikatan civil engineering projects to provide livelihood opportunities for the residents of Basilan.

Reyes stressed that the civil engineering projects will involve the construction of a 60-kilometer circumferential road which will connect several towns of Basilan, repair of an airstrip in Isabela City, rehabilitation of the Port Holland Pier in Maluso town, construction of another pier in Tabiawan town, and the drilling of water wells in the towns of Mulso, Campo Uno, and other poor areas of Basilan.

Last Saturday, a 340man US military engineering unit or "Seabees" (construction batttalion) arrived with a wide array of heavy equipment in Isabela City aboard the USS Germantown for the civil military operations with their Filipino counterparts in Basilan.

The deployment of US military engineers in Basilanwas approved by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"These projects will contribute significantly to the economic development of the province and the improvement of the conditions of its people," Reyes said..

The projects were selected jointly by AFP and US armed forces officials after consultations with local offficials and residents of Basilan.

The implementation of civil engineering projects in Basilan is covered by the Terms of Reference (TOR) and Exercise Balikatan 02-1 and, particularly, in the pursuance of a provision in the TOR, which stated "assistance projects shall be planned and executed jointly by RP-US forces in accordance with their respective laws and regulations and in consultation with the community and local government officials."

Defense Department oficials said the AFP was asssignedto handle the security of the US engineering personnel and equipment for the conduct of the socio-economic assistance program.

"The US personnel will always be accompanied by AFP security men at the construction sites," Reyes added.

"The US personnel will not be involved in any combat training activities," he stressed.

The proposed construction of an all-weather road network in Basilan will include drainage systems with an overall length of 60 kilometers and connect the towns of Maluso, Tipotipo, Lamitan, and Lantawan.