veteran Enrile wants to abolish the ban on nuclear weapons

The former president of the Senate and current legal adviser to Marcos Junior calls for the abolition of the article of the Constitution -promoted by Cory Aquino’s initiative in 1986- by which the country undertakes not to have nuclear warheads in its territory. Today, some sectors of public opinion question this option, in view of China’s unilateral movements in the region’s seas.

Manila () – The Philippines is reigniting the debate on the presence of nuclear weapons in the archipelago, prohibited by the 1987 Constitution. The increasing unilateral movements of China in the maritime area under Philippine jurisdiction (and half a dozen other countries) promote the current rapprochement with the United States after years of relative coldness in relations. An eloquent example is the impressive joint maneuvers in Balikatan, in which 17,600 men from both armies will participate starting on April 11. This climate could favor closer military cooperation with the traditional North American ally, whose bases in the archipelago were dismantled between 1991 and 1992. And at the same time, open the possibility that the Philippines becomes a central element of Washington’s strategy: Nuclear deterrence is one of the American pillars when it comes to encircling and containing China.

There are not a few who defend the need to review the prohibition of nuclear weapons. And among them is Juan Ponce Enrile, the former president of the Senate and current head of legal advisers to President Ferdinand Marcos Junior. Enrile argues that this prohibition is “the most serious and undesirable provision of the Constitution” and cites the Magna Carta which states that “The Philippines, in accordance with the national interest, shall adopt and implement a nuclear-free policy on its territory.”

Enrile, 99, a veteran of Philippine politics with half a century of experience in various offices and parties, spoke out openly during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Law Codes.

Enrile supported the argument of many, including President Marcos, who believe that the country needs to protect itself from the aggression of military powers: “In the modern world, a small country can protect itself from the superpowers if it has nuclear weapons. If we are capable of Therefore, we should also have nuclear weapons so that our people do not have to be dominated to the point of being dependent or enslaved by other countries.” And, he continued: “it is time to remove the restriction imposed by the Cory (Aquino ed.) administration that prevents the country and its people from possessing nuclear weapons on the ground.”

In his statements, Enrile alluded to the mandate of Corazón (Cory) Aquino, the first female president after the peaceful revolution of February 1986 by which the Filipinos forced the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, father of the current president, into exile. On the other hand, precisely under the mandate of Marcos Sr., Enrile himself, then Minister of Justice, had signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968. More recently, in 2017, the Duterte administration adhered to the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty. , ratified by the Philippine Senate two years ago.