Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairperson Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said that majority of the senators want a review of the United States-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to revoke following the cancelltion of the US visa of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
Pimentel said he cannot say that senators are for the abrogation of the VFA since they are divided. Instead, he noted that many of them favor its review, the same stand aired by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin.
Pimentel cited the assertion of the Presidential Commision on VFA that the defense agreeement should be reviewed periodically.
As for his personal view, Pimentel also believes the VFA should be reviewed.
He said last Thursday’s hearing was already part of the review of the VFA since “we learned many things from it. ”
“I will draft a recommendation to be approved by majority members of the committee,” he said.
“Practically, that was already a review to undestand all issues especially now that at first glance, our terms with the United States forces were not really equal…because we realized that when we said VFA, we look at it as the one approved by the Senate,” said Pimentel.
But he said there is a counterpart VFA which was not approved by the Senate because it did not happen in the Philippine territory but in the US– the status of the Philippine Forces Visiting in America, the comparisons made by Senator Grace Poe.
“We saw that… let’s call VFA 1, the one approved by the Senate, and VFA 2, the one approved by the US for the Philippine soldiers and military, ” he said.
He cited a big difference in the treatment of Philippine soldiers in the US and the American soldiers in the Philippines.
The senator said the VFA with Australia can be a basis for an improved VFA.
“We now have a basis of an improved VFA which is our VFA with Australia where the treatment is equal- how Australians will be treated in the Philippines should be the same treatment to Filipino soldiers in Australia,” said Pimentel./Stacy Ang
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I think Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia is best for the Philippine Government to consider.