Republic of the Philippines)

Quezon City ) SS.

AFFIDAVIT

I, MARY NANCY P. GADIAN, Filipino and of legal age, under oath

freely and voluntarily depose and state:

1. I became a commissioned officer in the reserve force (Women

Auxilliary Corps) of the Philippine Navy in 1991. From 1992 until 1993, I
underwent a Fillership Training in the Philippine Navy and I was assigned
at the Naval Intelligence and Security Force at the Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
After the termination of my Fillership Training in 1993, I stopped working
in the Philippine Navy and got married. In 1995, I went back to the
Philippine Navy and applied for call to active duty. I was called to active
duty in 1996 and became part of the regular force of the Philippine Navy
until April 2009.

2. Prior to and during my stint as an active officer of the Philippine

Navy, I received various awards and medals as well as letters of
commendation from various commanders and agencies. Among the
significant awards and medals that I received are the AFP Cadette of the
Year 1989,1 Philippine Navy Midshipwoman of the Year 1989, Flag Officer
in Command Certificate of Merit for graduating number 1 in the Naval
Officers Qualification Course “B,” Certificate of Merit for graduating
number 1 in Political Warfare Course, Certificate of Merit for graduating
number 2 in the Naval Intelligence Collection Course, Gawad sa
Kaunlaran Award, 11 Military Merit Medals on various occasions, Military
Commendation Medals and Basic Awards, and Recognition for my being a
member of the Technical Working Group that formulated the AFP CMO
Doctrine.

3. In 1996, I was assigned at the Office of Ethical Standards and

Public Accountability of the Philippine Navy until 1997. From July 1997
until October 1998, I was in the Naval Reserve Command as Deputy
Personnel Officer. I taught at the Naval Education and Training
Command, Naval Station San Miguel in San Antonio, Zambales in October
1998 until March 2001. After March 2001, I was assigned as Deputy
Operations Officer and Chief of the Operations Center of the Civil
Relations Service (CRS) of the AFP at Camp Aguinaldo. I was also Acting
Commander of the Special Operations Group of the CRS. In 2001, I was
designated one of the planners of the Balikatan 2002 which was held in
Clark Field, Pampanga and of the Balikatan 2002-1 which was held in
Mindanao. I was also the Public Affairs Officer of the Balikatan 2002
for the RP side. As one of the planners, I was involved in the series of

1 Awarded by then President Corazon C. Aquino.

 Affidavit of Mary Nancy P. Gadian/26 August 2009
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conferences between Philippine and US military officials where the latter

presented the plans and activities of the Balikatan for execution or
implementation. The planning conferences involved discussions of the
details of the execution or implementation of the plans and activities that
the Americans presented. I was also responsible for the administrative,
operational and financial requirements of the specific activities involving
the public and the media in relation to the Balikatan exercises.

4. Subsequently, I asked to be relieved from the CRS because I

could not stand the corruption over Balikatan funds involving Army
officers assigned to the CRS. I asked to be transferred back to the Navy.
When I returned to the Navy, I was assigned at the Naval Forces South
in Zamboanga. That was in May 2002. I was the personnel officer, public
information officer, unit historian and Commander of the Civil Military
Operations Group 6. My involvement with the US military was in
planning joint humanitarian projects of the US and Philippine military in
Western Mindanao. I was there until June 2003, when I underwent
schooling on Political Warfare Course at the Civil Affairs Group at Fort
Bonifacio, Taguig City until October 2003. After my schooling at the Civil
Affiars Group, I was assigned at the headquarters of the Southern
Command in Zamboanga City. I was chief of the Internal and External
Division of the Office of the Assistant Chief for Civil Military
Operations, Southern Command in Zamboanga City until February 2004.
Again, I was involved in the planning and implementation of
humanitarian and infrastructure projects of the US and Philippine military
in Western Mindanao.

5. I was recalled by the Philippine Navy in February 2004. I was

assigned at the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, also in Zamboanga
City. I was the Public Information Officer of the Command and
Assistant Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations. I stayed there
until January 2005. In January 2005, I was assigned at the Navy
Headquarters at Roxas Boulevard, Manila. I was designated as the Chief
of Public Affairs and PsyOps (Psychological Operations) Branch of the
Office of the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff for Operations and Training. I
was there until September 2005. In September 2005, I was assigned at the
Department of National Defense (DND) at Camp Aguinaldo as military
assistant to the Defense Intelligence Officer of the DND, until February
2006. From March 2006 until October 2006, I took up my Naval Command
and Staff Course at the Naval Education and Training Command in
Zambales. From November 2006 until July 1, 2007, I was in Zamboanga
City as Deputy Chief, Civil Military Operations of the Western
Mindanao Command. I was designated as Officer-in-Charge of the Civil
Military Operations Task Group of the Balikatan 2007. I was involved in
the planning of the Balikatan 2007, and I supervised the civil military
operations events involving the Balikatan exercises in the entire Mindanao.

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Those included medical and dental missions and infrastructure projects. I

was transferred to Camp Aguinaldo in July 2007 when I was placed on
floating status.

6. The AFP Western Mindanao Command is based in Camp Basilio

Navarro, Calarian, Zamboanga City. It is a unified command of the AFP
composed of the army, air force and navy with operations covering
Zamboanga, Sulu, Basilan, Taw-Tawi and part of Lanao. Before 2006, the
command operating in the entire Mindanao was called the Southern
Command based in Camp Navarro.

7. As one of the officers involved in the planning and

implementation of the Balikatan exercises and related activities, I had to
study the history of the Balikatan.

8. The Balikatan exercises started in 1981. It was held every year

since then, for less than a month. Even after the RP-US Military Bases
Agreement was terminated in 1991, the Balikatan exercises continued
every year, also for less than a month, until 1995. No Balikatan exercises
occurred in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 because the Visiting Forces
Agreement was then under discussion. The Balikatan exercises resumed
in 2000, after the Senate concurrence to the VFA. In 2002, the Balikatan
exercises lasted for more seven months. The first Balikatan in 2002
occurred in Luzon for less than a month. The second Balikatan in 2002,
called 2002-1 Balikatan Exercises, occurred in Mindanao for more than six
months. In 2007, the Balikatan exercises lasted 45 days.2 I was not
involved in the 2003 to 2006 Balikatan exercises.

9. After the 2002-1 Balikatan Exercises, the US troops stayed and

established a permanent and continuous presence in Southern
Mindanao. This is particularly described below.

10. After the 2002-1 Balikatan Exercises, the United States

established a Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP)
which is based in Camp Navarro. The JSOFTP is under the US Pacific
Command which is based in Hawaii. Prior to the establishment of the
JSOFTP, the US had a forward unit with about 500 men in Edwin Andrews
Air Base in Sta. Maria, Zamboanga City. Their base is in Okinawa, Japan.
In military parlance, a “forward unit” is an advance command unit that is
installed to serve as the first line of defense against the enemy. The
forward unit serves as the central command’s operating arm in the area.

2The 2007 Balikatan was almost cancelled because of the Nicole rape case against four
US servicemen and the detention of L/CPL Daniel Smith in the Makati City Jail in
December 2006. But after Smith was transferred to the US Embassy (on 29 December
2006), the preparation for the 2007 Balikatan was rushed in the early part of 2007.
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11. Prior to their presence in Camp Navarro, the US military built

permanent and temporary structures3 in the Edwin Andrews Air Base to
house their personnel and equipment (which included tanks and
communication equipment) and they also built a small permanent
structure near the airstrip of the Air Base. In 2001, they already had open
access to the airstrip and they had planes coming in and out almost every
other day. Their aircraft (C-12, C-130 and Chinook helicopters) were
parked in the base operations center of the Air Base. After they established
their continuous presence within Camp Navarro starting in 2002, the US
continued to maintain their office and warehouse near the airstrip in
Andrews Air Base. This area is fenced and secured by Filipinos and
Americans hired by Dyn Corporation, an American private military
contractor. Filipinos have no access to this area.

12. The American camp in Camp Navarro consists of two

permanent structures, built by the Americans, located near the office of the
Headquarters Service Group of the Western Mindanao Command. The
two permanent structures are fenced off by barbed wires and guarded by
US Marines. Filipinos have no access to those two structures except that
on occasions a few Filipino officers are invited inside the bigger structure
(but still on a limited access) which has the name of the Joint Special
Operations Task Force Philippines.

13. In Camp Malagutay, Barangay Malagutay, Zamboanga City, the

training camp of the Philippine Army, the US also has occupied since 2002
an area consisting of about 200 to 300 square meters where they maintain a
temporary structure (made of wood and GI sheets with a container van
beside it) which they use as an office. This area is also fenced off and
generally not accessible to Filipinos. I also visited this area and was able to
enter the lounge and conference room. The Americans have access to the
training facilities of the Philippine Army.

14. In the Philippine Naval Station in Batu-Bato, Panglima Sugala,

Tawi-Tawi, the Americans also have a temporary structure (made of wood
and GI sheets) in an area of about 200 square meters, which they maintain
continuously and man 365 days a year. They have advance satellite
communication equipment and rubber boats inside the structure and land
vehicles parked outside within the vicinity. They have approximately
seven US navy personnel in the area. I first saw their structure and
equipment in 2004. I visited this area many times.

15. The Americans also have a temporary structure (made of

plywood and GI sheets with a container van beside it) in the Naval Forces
Western Mindanao Command (where I was assigned in 2002-2005) based

3Permanent structures are those with fixed foundations made of concrete and cannot be
easily removed. Structures that are not of this nature are referred to as temporary.
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at Lower Calarian inside Camp Navarro. It is in that structure where they

keep their rubber boats and naval equipment. The place is maintained
continuously by U.S. Navy personnel. The Americans were already
operating this structure in 2002.

16. In Busbus, Jolo, Sulu, the Americans have temporary structures

in an area of about 1000 square meters inside Camp General Bautista
(under the Joint Task Force Comet) which house military personnel of the
U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific 365 days a year. I visited this
place several times prior to and during the 2007 Balikatan Exercises. The
U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific provides intelligence reports to
the Joint Task Force Comet, a special task force created by the AFP General
Headquarters to address the problems in Sulu. I sat in a couple of situation
briefings of the Philippine military where military personnel of the U.S.
Special Operations Command gave intelligence reports on the location of
the Abu Sayaf and secessionist groups in Mindanao. The military
personnel of the U.S. Special Operations Command also conduct training
exercises with Filipinos outside the Balikatan Exercises.

17. In all, the US troops stationed inside Camp Navarro and other
parts of Mindanao total about 500 at each particular time, on a rotating
basis of three months each. These troops are stationed in Mindanao even
without any Balikatan exercises going on.

18. The Philippine Government does not monitor the deployment

and movement of US troops in Southern Mindanao. As an officer of the
Western Mindanao Command, I had no idea of the deployment and
movement of the US troops in our area of responsibility. In one incident
in 2007, I rode in a helicopter with three US servicemen to go to Sulu. We
came from Zamboanga City. On the way to Sulu, we descended to a beach
area beside a forested and uninhabited place. I saw a rubber boat
approaching from the open sea, with four armed US servicemen. One of
the four got out of the boat and rode with us. I did not see any ship
around the area. I asked my American counterparts where the men came
from. He just responded that the man who joined us is a US Navy Seal.

19. The airstrips and runways of the Zamboanga City International

Airport can accommodate military aircrafts bigger than the biggest
commercial plane and have been used by the US military for their aircrafts.
US warships that dock in Philippine ports are exempt from the payment of
docking fees. I do not know of any case where the US paid docking fees.

20. Some members of the Philippine military confirmed to me that

US troops are embedded in Philippine troops who are engaged in actual
combat in Mindanao.

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21. The US is allowed to use intelligence equipment within the

Philippine archipelago even outside of the Balikatan exercises. One of
these is the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a special intelligence aircraft
exclusively used by the Americans. In joint military briefings that I
attended, military officers from the Philippine and US military often
mention the use of UAVs by the Americans to monitor and track down the
location of the target enemy (particularly the Abu Sayaf and Muslim
secessionist groups). In 2007, a fisherman found parts of an AUV that
crashed somewhere in Zamboanga del Sur. A retired army personnel
informed me about it. In my capacity as deputy chief of the CMO (Civil
Military Operations) of the Western Mindanao Command, I facilitated the
recovery of the parts and coordinated for the purpose with the American
liaison non-commissioned officer of the Joint Special Operations Task
Force Philippines. I was informed that they had a problem with
transportation and security in going to the area. Until I left in July 2007, I
had no more knowledge of what happened to it.

22. The Americans also maintain a presence along the borders of the
Philippine archipelago. US warships called frigates (frigates are for war
and equipped with missiles) operate within the Philippines’ exclusive
economic zone. Frigates are utilized as “fleet in being,” which means it is a
show of force. I do not know their activities in the area. Once a junior
officer in the Philippine Navy (from the operations center of the Naval
Forces Western Mindanao based in Zamboanga) called me up and asked
me if we were aware of the presence of the US warships along the borders
of the Philippines. I said no. I referred him to the operations center in
charge of the air, land and sea forces. He called back and said that they
did not know either. I referred him to the Western Mindanao Command.
He did not call up again. A staff mine also informed me that he and
several others went to the aircraft carrier anchored at the border, upon the
instructions of superiors, and that they sold Tanduay rhum to the
American military personnel inside.

23. The continuous presence of the US troops in the country has

been justified to us as part of the counter-terrorism measures of the United
States and is framed outside of the Balikatan Exercises but within the
Visiting Forces Agreement. But many officers of the AFP know that the
interest of the United States is in the oil and natural gas exploration going
on in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and Palawan and because Mindanao is a
strategic area in relation to Southeast Asia.

24. Outside the Balikatan Exercises, splintered exercises are

conducted. Some of these exercises are Combined Readiness at Sea
(CARAT), which is conducted annually involving the US and Philippine
Navy; Balance Piston, an annual army-to-army exercise; PALAH
(Panglupa, Dagat at Himpapawid) Exercise, an annual exercise of the
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composite units of the US and Philippine military, which last about two
weeks each. In addition to these annual exercises, the US military,
through the JSOTFP, also does community relations projects (outside of
the Balikatan exercises) in different areas of Mindanao, which include
medical missions, minor repainting of schools and visitations to
orphanages.

25. The Philippine government can easily provide funds for

infrastructure projects and the medical and dental missions that are
conducted by the US military in Mindanao since the majority of the
manpower is provided anyway by the AFP and the US only gives supplies
and materials. It appears, however, that to justify the US military presence
in Southern Mindanao, they have to engage in infrastructure projects and
medical and dental missions.

26. Technology-wise, Filipino soldiers benefit from the Balikatan by

learning to use small pieces of military equipment such as sophisticated
guns, which the AFP does not have and does not acquire, and night vision
goggles. But Filipino soldiers are not allowed to handle the US military’s
intelligence equipment. Neither is there any capacity building in
intelligence gathering for the Philippine military. Filipino soldiers also get
free rides in US military aircraft for Medevac and the Black Hawk, which
the Philippine military does not have. But it is the US military that
primarily benefits from the exchange of techniques, tactics and procedures
in the joint exercises.

27. The R & R (called “Liberty” by the Americans) of the US troops

is included in the planning of the Balikatan exercises. In the Balikatan
exercises where I was involved, the specific areas where they could go
were pre-determined. This was not disclosed to the media. In 2002, it was
Angeles and the American soldiers could go as far as Subic. In 2002-1, the
R & R places were Angeles, Subic and Cebu. The Americans decide where
their troops can go and we are only informed about it. The so-called
“Public Affairs Guidance” approved by both sides focus on prescribed
public behavior for the troops and on cultural sensitivity. Nothing is said
about prostitution. They are simply told that they should be aware of the
cultural sensitivity of Filipinos. But I witnessed how officers and enlisted
personnel of the US military pick up women prostitutes and how women
prostitutes go to their hotel rooms. I also received reports of many “sexual
activities” of US troops in all sorts of places during their “R & R.”

28. Sometime in 2003, an American serviceman (a member of the

special forces called “green beret”) was killed by a bomb while eating in a
restaurant by the road. Before the 2003 incident, US soldiers freely roam
around Zamboanga City and patronize prostitution places in the city.
After the 2003 incident, soldiers are generally restricted to camp although
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some are able to go out to patronize establishments engaged in

prostitution. Because of the restrictions, Filipino women prostitutes now
go to Camp Navarro to “service” US servicemen. This is common
knowledge among Philippine and US military officials. The sexual
servicing occurs in different areas in the Camp. Many think that
“nababastos ang kampo” because of the prostitution going on within the
Camp.

29. Over the years, I saw an increase in the number of

establishments in Zamboanga City catering to US servicemen, and many of
these are obviously involved in prostitution.

30. I experienced and witnessed the arrogant, high-handed and

imperious conduct, behavior and attitude of many US military officers and
enlisted personnel as well as their civilian employees towards us Filipinos.
Generally, they call us like they are summoning their servants. They often
impose on us their wishes and expect us to submit to their commands. On
the whole, their assertions of power and authority appear like they rule
over us and the country.

MARY NANCY P. GADIAN

Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this 26th day of August

2009 at Quezon City, Philippines after the affiant exhibited to me her
Philippine Passport No. XX1323298 issued in Manila on 4 June 2008 and
which expires on 3 June 2013 as competent evidence of her identity.

Doc. No. ____;

Page No. ___ _;
Book No. ___ _;
Series of 2009.