![]() ![]() Theodore Te, the Supreme Court spokesman, said the resolution would not influence the court’s decision, although he noted that the issue of a Senate review of the defence deal had been raised during oral arguments in court.Īny delays in the court decision could send a signal to Beijing that Manila was uncertain about its alliance with the United States, said Ernest Bower, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. While the court is independent, it would be taking note of the political winds while also paying attention to concerns over China’s muscle flexing in the South China Sea, they said.Įven if the court ruled the agreement was constitutional, it might say it needed Senate approval, they said. The Senate has ratified previous Philippine defence agreements, including a decades-old security treaty with the United States.Ī Senate resolution on the EDCA would not go unnoticed at the court, the Philippine political experts added. Senators have said they also want to review an agreement to be negotiated with Tokyo that would allow Japanese military aircraft and naval vessels to use bases in the Philippines for refuelling and picking up supplies. “Aquino is increasingly losing his power to influence Congress,” said political expert Ramon Casiple.įurther delays might raise eyebrows in Washington, experts said, given Manila has been the most vocal critic of Beijing among the claimants to the South China Sea and has urged the United States to be more assertive in pushing back against China’s rapid land reclamation in the waterway. The Philippine constitution allows presidents to only serve a single six-year term. With national elections due in May 2016, politicians are already focusing on who will contest the presidency when Aquino steps down, possibly putting some congressional business on the back-burner. While a Senate resolution would not be binding on President Benigno Aquino, it would put pressure on him to allow senators to debate the agreement, which would delay it further, Philippine political experts told Reuters. The proposed resolution will be lodged in late July, when the Senate reconvenes after a recess. “In this resolution, we are saying we will not allow the power of the Senate to be eroded,” Senator Miriam Santiago, the principal author of the measure, said in a statement last week. In another complication, 13 senators in the 24-member Philippine Senate have signed a draft resolution insisting the upper house scrutinise the deal before it takes effect. The deal, called an Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), was signed just days before Obama last travelled to Manila in April 2014. President Barack Obama visits Manila for an Asia-Pacific summit in November. ![]() The court is expected to issue a ruling before U.S. troops wide access to local military bases and approval to build facilities to store fuel and equipment for maritime security, but it was effectively frozen after left-wing politicians and other opponents challenged its constitutionality in the Philippine Supreme Court last year. President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with Philippine President Benigno Aquino after a joint news conference at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila in this Apfile photo. ![]()
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