In the wake of the political confusion over the signing of the MLSA on Thursday, November 21, I feel it timely to disclose to the public the exchange of letters between Vice President Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr. and myself, on this issue.

On November 21, the Vice President wrote me the following letter:

“Dear Secretary Ople:

 You should know how highly I appreciate the manner by which you so speedily transmitted to me the latest information on the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA).  I take it from the tenor of your letter, which I have today, that this Agreement shall have already been signed as you receive this reply.

 It is noteworthy that in this final Agreement significant changes have been made on matters covered by my comments and forwarded earlier to Secretary Angelo Reyes.

 At the earliest time possible, I will take the opportunity to clarify with you some remaining concerns that I have.  I must, however indicate at once that Part IX of the Agreement on “Effective Date and Termination” speaks of Annexes A-N which are described as “its integral part.”

I trust that these annexes formed part of the MLSA when it was signed.  Since they are missing from the MLSA copy you so kindly transmitted to me, I am unable to have a good grasp of the Agreement as a whole.

                                                                                                       Yours sincerely,

                                                                                            (Sgd.) Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr.
                                                                                                             Vice President
 

On November 22, I wrote the Vice President the following reply:

“Dear Vice President Guingona:

Thank you very much for your kind letter of Nov. 21, 2002, which I have just received, pertaining to the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA).

I believed we owe it to you as the former Secretary of Foreign Affairs who originally sat in the Cabinet Committee chaired by the Secretary of National defense to furnish you, at the earliest opportunity, a copy of the Agreement as signed by the representatives of the AFP Chief of Staff and the CINPAC of the United States Department of National Defense.  It is correct as you noted in your letter, that “in this final Agreement significant changes have been made,” on matters covered by your comments forwarded earlier to Secretary Angelo Reyes.

We are in fact indebted to you for your contributions that have strengthened the Agreement in terms of a very clear adherence to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.  Most of your suggestions have been incorporated in the Agreement, which, as you may know, is largely based on the final Philippine draft in the formulation of which you had participated as a member of the Cabinet Committee.  It was my privilege to succeed you in that Committee and to ensure that your comments and suggestions on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs, in which I concurred, were fully reflected in the final document.

With regard to the annexes mentioned in your letter, please feel free to communicate with me, Senior Undersecretary Lauro Baja, Jr. or Carlos “King” Sorreta, Jr., my Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

I look forward to meeting you personally on this and other foreign policy matters in the near future.

Please accept my warmest appreciation and best wishes.

                                                                                                          Sincerely yours,

                                                                                                (Sgd.) Blas F. Ople
                                                                                                          Secretary
 

The two letters are self-explanatory.  A high tone of civility is the hallmark of this exchange and I hope will set a standard for all public discourse on the issue or non-issue of the MLSA.