17 years ago, the Philippine Senate voted to reject a treaty that would have prolonged the existence of US military installations in the Philippines, notably the Clark and Subic bases. Outside the Senate on that day, there was dancing in the streets to celebrate a triumph for Philippine sovereignty.

It was truly a watershed movement in history, with 12 senators — then dubbed as the Magnificent 12 stood up to both President Corazon Aquino and Uncle Sam and told the nation that the Philippine can live without the bases and all the strings attached to it.

The doomsday scenario of the pro-bases groups did not happen, and we saw the development of Clark and Subic into export-processing zones.

Unfortunately, we now see a big comeback of foreign military forces under the guise of “war games” and “counter-terrorism”. Presidents Joseph Estrada and more so Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo have allowed them free, unhampered entry to the country. Now called “visiting forces”, the US troops have reportedly set up camp in several Mindanao areas, have never left, have kept a continuing presence, and have not been completely accounted for by the Philippine government in terms of their exact number and exact location at any given moment.

This is not about anti-Americanism. This is about plain and simple patriotism and upholding our prerogatives as a supposed sovereign state. No foreign army must freely operate within the territory. And if ever they are allowed into the country, their objective must be clear, Philippine law must be followed, and that they are entirely accounted for.

At present, those supporting US military presence are parroting and recycling the old, pre-1991 arguments about the alleged benefits of military cooperation for common security concerns. But Mindanao remains fettered by Abu Sayyaf banditry despite the presence of these foreign troops. How many years should we let this cooperation continue? 20 years? 50 years? What should we do if the presence of these foreign troops fail to obtain the desired results? Prolong their stay?

The reasoning is dangerous as the same could be used in counter-insurgency operations against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The arena of conflict with the MILF is where many of these foreign troops are now reportedly stationed and it is not farfetched that they may now be involved in actual combat operations, under the guise of providing advice to Filipino commanders.  If such turns out to be true, it would be a serious violation of the Constitution and will internationalize the conflict.

Today’s anniversary is an opportunity for Filipinos to take stock of what the Senate did 17 years earlier and to assess the renewed military presence especially in Mindanao.