Republic of the Philippines HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Quezon City FIFTEENTH CONGRESS First Regular Session HOUSE RESOLUTION No.

382 _______________________________________________________________________ Introduced by Reps. TEDDY A. CASIO and NERI JAVIER COLMENARES ________________________________________________________________________ RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, ON THE STATIONING OF THE US NUCLEAR-POWERED USS GEORGE WASHINGTON NAVAL FLEET CARRIER IN MANILA BAY LAST SEPTEMBER 4 TO 7, 2010 WHICH EXPLICITLY VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTIONAL BAN ON THE ENTRY OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE COUNTRY, EXPOSED THE PEOPLE TO THE DANGER OF A NUCLEAR-RELATED DISASTER AND UNDERMINED PHILIPPINE SOVEREIGNTY WHEREAS, the country upholds a nuclear-free policy as provided for in Article II, Sec. 8 of the Constitution which states: The Philippines, consistent with the national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory; WHEREAS, last September 4 to 7, 2010, the nuclear-powered USS George Washington (CVN 73) Naval Fleet Carrier arrived in Manila under the pretext of a goodwill visit. It had a 6,000-strong force and is part of the US Navy's 7th Fleet permanently deployed in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly Japan; WHEREAS, the USS George Washington belongs to the Nimitz-class supercarriers which are a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the US Navy. They are the largest capital ships in the world. The USS George Washington fleet is made up of four ships aircraft carrier USS George Washington, cruiser USS Cowpens, and destroyers USS John S. McCain and the USS McCampbell. Its use of nuclear power enable it to operate for 20 years without refueling and is predicted to have a service life of over 50 years; WHEREAS, the USS George Washington is a main component of the Carrier Strike Group under Task Force 70 of the Battle Force Seventh Fleet. The supercarrier forms part of the critical combat elements of the U.S. Seventh Fleet as the US Navys only permanently forward deployed and largest carrier strike group, designated Carrier Strike Group Five (CSG 5). An embarked carrier air wing consisting of up to around 90 aircraft is normally deployed on board. The air wings' strike fighters are primarily F/A-18F Super Hornets and F/A-18C Hornets. These planes are capable of carrying the B-57 or B-61 nuclear bomb. The

vessel itself carry short-range defensive weaponry, used for anti-aircraft warfare and missile defense; WHEREAS, Task Force 70 Commander Rear Admiral Kevin Donegan said that the US had 130 port visits in the country in 2008. Their stay likewise included command level visits, routine ship replenishment, maintenance of shipboard systems and crew liberty; WHEREAS, the port visits are part of the US permanent military presence in the country made possible through the onerous Visiting Forces Agreement which some Philippine legislators want abrogated owing to the 11-year old treatys provisions that have undermined the countrys sovereignty by allowing the basing of foreign troops and facilities; the flying in of warplanes; visits of combat troops and special operations forces; operation of intelligence, surveillance and satellite facilities including unmanned aerial vehicles, and access to airfields and camps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; WHEREAS, the attendant humanitarian missions that come with the US troops visits are in line with the US Counterinsurgency Guide to make US military intervention more acceptable and palatable to the people, especially in areas that are known strongholds of armed revolutionary movements including the New Peoples Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front; WHEREAS, the USS George Washington is, at the very least, a nuclear-weapons capable vessel and the entry of the nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed fleet in the country likewise exposed the country to the potential of a nuclear disaster which the government has hardly any capacity to deal with; WHEREAS, the US has maintained a neither confirm nor deny policy on the presence of nuclear weapons in any of its military facilities and vessels located in various counties across the globe. US submarines are known to carry nuclear weapons. These submarines usually accompany large naval fleets, but their presence in Philippine waters is largely unknown. It is thus incumbent upon a sovereign nation to order any visiting force in the country to categorically declare the absence or presence of nuclear material in pursuit of the Constitutional prohibition on the matter; WHEREAS, the presence of US warships and such other war materiel makes the country vulnerable to external attacks from US enemies, in the process dragging the Philippines into a war not of our own making; WHEREAS, the crew liberty or rest and recreation aspect of the visit likewise may serve as a euphemism for the troops engagement in local prostitution. The social cost of the socalled visits has been starkly illustrated in the infamous Nicole rape case involving Lance Corporal Daniel Smith; WHEREAS, the Philippines remains an important strategic basing area for the maintenance of US hegemony in the region. The continued US military intervention in the country is against national interest and highlights continuing neo-colonial relationship between the two countries;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Committee on Foreign Affairs conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the stationing of the US nuclear-powered USS George Washington Naval Fleet Carrier in Manila Bay last September 4 to 7, 2010 which explicitly violated the constitutional ban on the entry of nuclear weapons in the country, exposed the people to the danger of a nuclear-related disaster, and undermined Philippine sovereignty. Adopted,

TEDDY A. CASIO Bayan Muna Party-list

NERI JAVIER COLMENARES Bayan Muna Party-list