Philippine senators want U.S. treaty re-negotiated

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' Senate sent a non-binding resolution to the government Tuesday calling for the re-negotiation of a security agreement with the United States because it violated the constitution.

The move came on a day two U.S. Navy servicemen were killed when a convoy of military vehicles struck a crude land mine on the southern Jolo island in the Philippines.

Senators led by Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a political ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, argued the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) was a one-sided deal in favor of Washington.

"It's a simple resolution which does not have the effect of the law," said Senator Miguel Zubiri, another Arroyo ally and majority floor leader at the Senate, adding the lawmakers were merely expressing a collective sentiment toward an issue.

But the government has responded positively, creating an inter-agency panel to review the agreement signed in 1998 and recommend whether Manila should keep or abrogate the treaty for a much better deal from the United States.

The senators said the VFA had not been beneficial to the Philippines because the United States failed to provided enough aid to modernise the country's military capabilities as well as guarantee the rights of Filipinos in criminal cases.

They also cited media reports which claimed U.S. troops deployed in the southern Philippines had engaged in combat with Muslim rebels from the Abu Sayyaf. The agreement prohibits U.S. troops from combat in the Philippines, allowing them to only train and advise Filipino troops.

(Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jerry Norton)