16 September, 1991

TODAY IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY:

The Philippine Senate voted today to reject a new treaty for the Subic Bay Naval Station and to end an American military presence in the country that has lasted nearly a century. But President Corazon C. Aquino effectively extended the American lease by calling for a national referendum on the base’s future.

In a vote of 12 to 11, the Senate adopted a motion to spurn the new treaty, which would allow thousands of American troops to remain at the base for another 10 years. The current treaty on Subic Bay, the largest American military installation in the Philippines, expires today. The 11 senators who voted in favor of the new treaty were 5 short of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification.

(Ref: Nytimes.com; Source ID:DN-ST-82-01682 / National Archive# NN33300514 2005-06-30)