‘VFA review not being buried’

MANILA, Philippines - The government will continue its review of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) as “contentious issues” in the deal have again come into focus with the killing of 26-year-old Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude allegedly by a US Marine, Malacañang said yesterday.

“The Philippines continues to study the VFA,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said over radio dzRB. “There is the readiness to assess how to fine tune or fix to lessen the so-called contentious issues.”

Coloma said President Aquino himself had said that while the VFA was under constant review, it was premature to talk about custody of Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton since the murder case filed against him for the death of Laude is still under preliminary investigation.

Coloma said Aquino was of the belief that justice could be obtained by following processes.

He denied that the VFA was a one-sided love affair in response to a WikiLeaks report on alleged pressure exerted by the US on the Philippines to regain custody of US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who was accused of raping a Filipina also in Subic in 2005.

Coloma said the VFA is part of the country’s national security strategy and that issues surrounding it would always be addressed.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg said Friday the US was open to talks on reviewing the VFA, especially for the purpose of joint clarification based on mutually agreed premises.

But he emphasized a review should not be linked to the custody issue involving Pemberton. He said the Philippine side can always bring “additional things to the table,” but that moving for the renegotiation or abrogation of the VFA may be too extreme a reaction.

Based on the VFA, Pemberton may remain at Camp Aguinaldo until the court decides on his detention. Since Pemberton is still being investigated for the death of Laude, Philippine authorities said it would be premature for them to demand custody of the 19-year-old Marine.

Amend VFA

Meanwhile, a professor said amending the VFA may help make the US realize that it needs more than lip service to show that it respects Philippine sovereignty.

“While the Philippines is cognizant of US help in beefing the military capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we must be vigilant in stating that US military personnel are visiting forces, not invading forces,” Benito Lim, professor of Chinese Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, said in a paper submitted to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which is discussing VFA and Laude’s death.

“We must insist that these visiting forces respect our sovereignty as an independent Republic, and long-time ally of the USA. Therefore, the visiting forces should respect our laws, they should not harm or molest our citizens,” he said.

“If ever they commit any wrongdoing in our country, these visiting forces must answer to our courts,” he added.

He also said the VFA should not be viewed as an instrument to threaten China, which is engaged in territorial spats with its neighbors, including the Philippines.

“Our government must make it clear to our people and the Chinese that we seek peaceful resolution to our dispute and that we want to preserve our good relations with Beijing,” Lim said.

“We must also emphasize and assure the Chinese that the VFA is a form of joint military exercises to train our soldiers for defense, for search and rescue operations and that our government is not supporting US policy of containing China,” he added.

“If our government uses the VFA as the means to restrain Chinese claims over the disputed territories, it will only provoke belligerent response,” he said.    – With Marvin Sy