Philippines hopes visit of U.S. aircraft carrier not to cause agitation from bin Laden sympathizers

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III's spokesperson expressed hope Saturday that the upcoming visit of aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, from which al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's body was buried at sea, will not cause any agitation from sympathizers of bin Laden.

Aquino and some members of his cabinet made a surprise visit to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier while it was still on international waters on Saturday, officials said, adding that the aircraft carrier is scheduled to dock in Manila from Sunday to Wednesday for a four-day routine port call.

"Hopefully (the port call and visit to Manila of the aircraft carrier) will not create any sort of agitation," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview.

Valte said the presence of U.S. aircraft carrier in the Philippine waters is allowed under the Visiting Forces Agreement ( VFA) between the two countries.

"So it's normal that if there's such kind of visit, it's covered by the VFA and this is not a surprised visit," Valte said, adding that the Philippine government is usually informed whenever there is a port call of U.S. navy vessels.

The VFA, which has drawn extensive criticism from a number of Filipinos -- from ordinary citizens to senators, entered into force on May 27, 1999, eight years after the closure of the U.S. military bases in the Philippines in 1991. It is also the mechanism currently being used by both countries for the continued presence of the U.S. military in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao, where a number of rebel and terrorist groups are based.

According to U.S. officials, bin Laden was killed in a raid early this month in his hideout in Pakistan and within 24 hours, U. S. forces buried him at sea using USS Carl Vinson.

On May 6, dozens of local Muslims marched from Manila's main mosque toward the U.S. embassy, condemning the "brutal killing" of bin Laden and describing the sea burial as a desecration of the al- Qaida leader's body. The protesters were pushed back by police officers with riot shields before reaching the embassy and dispersed later.

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