Maintain VFA for 5 more years — lawyer
MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Antonio La Viña, former dean of the Ateneo School of Government, on Thursday said that the country should maintain the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) for five more years.
“Let’s tell the Americans [that they have five years but at the end of those five years], we have to be self-secure — that’s my position. Eventually, we’ll have to terminate the VFA but not now because we have no alternative and that will make [us] vulnerable [to] China,” La Viña said in a mix of Filipino and English during an interview on media platform Now You Know.
The VFA, which was signed by the Philippines and the US in 1998, allows Filipino and American forces to hold joint trainings on Philippine soil. The Senate ratified the treaty in 1999 despite concerns that it would violate Philippine sovereignty.
La Viña echoed these long-standing concerns, citing the unequal relationship between the two countries.
“When American forces do something wrong, we cannot hold them accountable here. If only they could show that they hold their people accountable but they don’t. They are sent home, they might be discharged, but no charges are filed against them,” he said in Filipino.
The law professor added that while he believes the VFA has kept us safe from invasion, it has done little to help us with other major sovereignty concerns such as the ongoing dispute with China over maritime territory.
“From the point of view of being able to defend some of our territory in the West Philippine Sea, having the VFA did not really help with that… I think [the] problems is we rely too much on the VFA and [not] on our own selves. Particularly [a lack of trust] in the modernization of our military,” La Viña said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Overall, he said that while he would prefer not to have the agreement at all — its termination must be accompanied by a solid plan and time frame.
Particularly, La Viña pointed towards the lack of planning in terms of external threats.
“To be honest, [our forces] have no capacity right now because we are not building it. Our military’s problem is that they are only looking inwardly. They believe their mortal enemy is the [New People’s Army], and before that it was the [Moro Islamic Liberation Front]… Their defense should be external but they have not done the work to be independently secure,” he said in Filipino.
VFA as it stands
Last January, President Rodrigo Duterte announced his plan to terminate the VFA after his political ally and former police chief Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s US visa was cancelled.
Officials claim that the move was also in response to the US Senate resolution condemning the human rights violations in the Philippines and the demand of some American senators to free detained opposition senator Leila de Lima.
However, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. last week announced that the president had ordered the suspension of the VFA's termination. The following day, Locsin said the coronavirus pandemic and "heightened superpower tensions" had prompted Duterte to make the decision.
Army chief Gen. Gilbert Gapay welcomed this decision, saying it would help the country as it continues to face the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also stressed the long-established relationship between the two states, anchored on the Mutual Defense Treaty.
However, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque soon after maintained that the chief executive had not changed his mind regarding the termination of the agreement.
“When it comes to the VFA, what was suspended was the process of termination. The president has no new decision when it comes to the termination,” he earlier said at a press briefing.
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement, which will expire 180 days after the notice of termination is sent to the US.
That notice was sent on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, according to Philippine government officials.
Duterte had previously warned the United States that he will terminate the VFA if the cancellation of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa's US visa—believed but not confirmed to have been over the continued detention of Sen. Leila De Lima and the government's "war on drugs"—is not "corrected".
The decision to terminate comes amid a resolution by the Senate recognizing the president's authority to terminate agreements and treaties but also asking him to hold off on the decision while lawmakers conduct a review of the VFA and other agreements with America.
Activist groups have been calling on the government to scrap the deal since 1999, saying the Visiting Forces Agreement favors the US, keeps the Philippine military dependent on assistance and aid, and puts the Philippines at risk from America's enemies.
Main photo: In this May 19, 2018 file photo, Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Salamat and US Brig. Gen. Thomas Weidley lead the ceremonial furling of the Balikatan flag during the closing ceremony of the Philippine-US military exercises. The STAR/Boy Santos
The Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, which President Rodrigo Duterte decided in February 2020 would be scrapped, will no longer be abrogated, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana says.
Lorenzana says Duterte decided to revoke the termination of the agreement after a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday night. — Bella Perez-Rubio
President Rodrigo Duterte extends the suspension of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States for another six months, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. says.
"The president conveyed to us his decision to extend the suspension of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement by another six months while he studies and both sides further address his concerns regarding particular aspects for the agreement," Locsin says in a video posted on social media.
SFA @teddyboylocsin announces President Duterte’s decision to extend the suspension of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) by another six months. #DFAForgingAhead#VisitingForcesAgreement pic.twitter.com/tdqlcZ5lzt
— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) June 14, 2021
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US military open the 36th Balikatan Exercise, which features military simulations made possible by the Visiting Forces Agreement.
The Balikatan comes after the termination of the VFA was suspended for a second six-month period and as tensions with China rise over its ships in the West Philippine Sea.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson reminds President Rodrigo Duterte that under the Constitution, a senator also has something to do with international agreements.
The president earlier told Lacson that he has nothing to do with the issue of the Visiting Forces agreement between the Philippines and the United States.
"Even an ordinary citizen of this country who feels embarrassed by his harsh, undiplomatic remarks concerning an existing bilateral agreement is guaranteed under the same Constitution to express his views. Not anyone, even he as President can curtail that basic right," Lacson says.
The US defense department has boostedthe Armed Forces of the Philippines' counter-terrorism capability with new equipment, the US Embassy in Manila says.
The capability upgrade is among the P1.4-billion ($29.3 million) in defense articles recently transferred to the AFP, Acting US Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller tells senior Philippine military officials as he met with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. Tuesday in Manila.
In a statement provided by the US Embassy, Miller stresses the importance of the US-Philippine alliance to national and regional security.
Miller says the defense articles that were turned over last December 2 were transferred to several special mission units of the AFP to support its modernization goals.
The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) lauded the capability, especially the anti-Improvised Explosive Device equipment, which will form part of force protection noting that in the recent campaign troops have engaged terrorists rigging IEDs in its attacks. — The STAR/Roel Pareño
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