Politics lecture

Vincent K. Pollard will lecture on "Filipinos Writing a Constitution: Nationalist Commissioners, American Spies and the Anti-Bases Movement in Post-Marcos Philippines."

Contrary to a mistaken belief, the eruption of the Mount Pinatubo volcano on 12 June 1991 did not terminate negotiations on the Philippines-U.S. Military Bases Agreement. Instead, President Corazon Aquino and her negotiating panel were already ensnared in an elaborate two-edged trap set by Aquino’s own Constitutional Commission during June-October 1986.

During the first year of her presidency, Aquino was nagged by challenges to her legitimacy. Secret cablegrams in 1986 also reveal intelligence failures by U.S. Embassy "Political Section" staff. Meanwhile, imaginative tactical leadership by "Nationalist Bloc" Commissioners and allied anti-bases NGOs linked to the contentious "parliament of the streets" facilitated acceptance of strategic compromises by the President and her supporters.

The lecture is based on research done for Chapter 5 of Pollard's book Globalization, Democratization and Asian Leadership: Power Sharing, Foreign Policy and Society in the Philippines and Japan (Ashgate, 2004). Sources include declassified U.S. Embassy cablegrams and interviews with political activists and government practitioners.

This event is part of the Spring 2006 Philippine Studies Colloquium Series.

Ticket Information
Free and open to interested members of the community.

Event Sponsor
Center for Philippine Studies, Manoa

More Information
Clem Montero, 956-6086, cps@hawaii.edu

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