On the 19th of March marks the seventh anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, the last decade’s most infamous war of aggression by the world’s only superpower and the primary theater of war in US global fight against terror.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the Arroyo government had fully supported the wars of aggression of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, and contributed further by allowing the permanent presence of US troops in the Philippines, despite widespread protests as to its violations of our people’s national sovereignty.

We have not forgotten the kid-glove treatment of Philippine authorities of accused American soldiers and the acts of US Embassy officials in forcibly removing from Philippine hands Lance Corporal Daniel Smith for ‘detention’ in the US Embassy.

Furthermore, Mrs. Arroyo and US State Secretary Hillary Clinton completely reaffirmed the validity and justness of the Visiting Forces Agreement during the latter’s visit in the Philippines last September, and not even any hint of renegotiation has come to pass. This is clear proof that official pronouncements by both governments amounted to nothing but lip service to pacify growing protests against the VFA.

As such, we believe that the next Philippine President must have the courage to assert Philippine sovereignty against the world’s only superpower, particularly on the issue of the Visiting Forces Agreement. Not only does it violate our integrity as a people, the continuing presence of US troops had proven to violate the rights of our women too.

Our sovereignty is much too precious in exchange for scrap military vehicles and equipment, and no amount of supposed humanitarian aid may justify the continuing presence of US troops in Philippine soil. It is for our government to provide such to our people, and not from seeking mere alms from the rest of the world.

[The author is a former Student Regent of the University of the Philippines.]