Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) raised the suspicion on the wake of President Aquino’s last minute cancellation of the courtesy call of world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao at Malacañang to meet with ranking US officials onboard the visiting US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

“Given the circumstances, his [Aquino’s] visit to the USS Carl Vinson cannot be an innocent tour. The Americans talked to the President about something they wanted to remain secret, out of earshot of the Filipino people and out of the prying cameras of the media” asserted Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.

Miranda said the passage of the FOI bill is highly needed now as the Aquino administration prefers to conduct high level negotiations with the US in secrecy. The details of the meetings were never made public, she said.

“ The passage of the Freedom of Information Bill will promote transparency in government transactions and access to information by the people,” said Miranda. “We call on the Senate to repudiate the VFA and for Congress to pass the FOI bill.”

She stressed that, “such a top secret agenda in the middle of the high seas could be anything from more concessions about American access to the Philippines as per the VFA to increased US intervention in the war against Muslim insurgents as a follow-through to Osama bin Laden’s assassination.”

Miranda recalled that despite the conviction of US marine officer Daniel Smith of the rape of a then 22-year-old Filipino woman in the former US naval base in Subic, Zambales, Smith was able to go scot free after the alleged victim recanted her statement before the Court of Appeals.