MANILA, Philippines — The termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) may ultimately put an end to all Philippine-US agreements, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Friday.
The former top diplomat appealed to the Congress and the Supreme Court, both co-equal branches of the government, to "resist this tragedy" that may also end the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
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"What is unfolding is a national tragedy which should
be resisted. As a democratic and republican country, we do not believe that one man alone can make this damaging choice for our people," Del Rosario said at a post-VFA forum organized by think tank
Stratbase ADR Institute.
Del Rosario pointed out that President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to abrogate the VFA removes one of the focal points underpinning the decades-old alliance between the Philippines and the US.
The former DFA chief, who led the Philippines in its arbitration against China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, stressed that the country's alliance with Washington helped the country maintain its integrity against foreign aggression, including Chinese incursions in the disputed waterway.
"
Terminating the VFA would
serve to actualize our pivot towards China against the strong and vehement objections of our people," Del Rosario said.
Admitting that the VFA is an "imperfect agreement," Del Rosario said ending it would interrupt the Philippines'
benefits from the Mutual Defense Treaty such as joint training and exercises, the military's modernization,
assistance during natural calamities and having
oartners in counter-terrorism efforts.
The former top diplomat recalled that the US provided quick relief response when super typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) struck the country in 2013, which was
possible
due to the VFA. While other countries also wanted to provide
assistance, the lack of legal arrangements constrained their entry to the Philippines.
"We must reject the notion that maintaining the Philippine-US is subservience to the US. In the international community, countries must forge alliances to protect their own interests," Del Rosario said.
Maintaining the alliance between the Philippines and the US would be for the sake of the Filipino people who want to protect the country's territory, he added.
"We must be with responsible with whom we share our core values of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. To stand otherwise is not what Filipinos are; it is not what we do; it is not what is right," Del Rosario said.
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio shared the same sentiments on maintaining alliances to defend Philippine sovereignty.
Carpio said President Rodrigo Duterte's pronouncements that there are only two choices — becoming a territory of the US or a province of China — is false.
"It's a false choice because it is not true that we should be
either a Chinese province or a US territory because we can have alliances," Carpio said in the same forum.
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