Senate concurrence on VFA not needed — lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines — The move of President Duterte to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States does not need prior consent from the Senate.

A ranking lawmaker in the House of Representatives said this yesterday as senators were planning to file a petition with the Supreme Court (SC) questioning the termination of the VFA without their concurrence.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the constitutional amendments committee, said he expects the SC to dismiss the petition to be filed by the senators.

“The President has the exclusive power to abrogate the VFA. Senate concurrence is not required,” he told The STAR.

Rodriguez, a former law school dean and resident legal expert of the House, explained that the VFA is an executive agreement and not a treaty like the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) that requires Senate concurrence.

But the lawmaker shared the opinion of senators that the decision to terminate the agreement with the US would be detrimental to the nation.

“I appeal to the President to reconsider his decision to abrogate the VFA because this will be inimical to our national security and interest. The VFA provides for US assistance in fighting terrorism, in intelligence gathering and in relief operations for calamities in the country,” he stressed.

“The VFA complements our Mutual Defense Treaty with the US, which we need because of our conflict with China over the West Philippine Sea,” Rodriguez added.

He issued the statement after Senate President Vicente Sotto III raised the possibility that some senators would seek an affirmation from the SC of the chamber’s power to concur.

He said the senators are urging Duterte to reconsider his stance until senators finish their review of the VFA and make recommendations.

Sotto said he was inclined to support a pending resolution stating that Senate concurrence is needed before any treaty or agreement can be revoked.

“I am inclined to support it because in this case, we thought a review is proper. We thought that we should have been consulted and we were giving out our sense that it should be reconsidered, knowing that there are very serious implications on EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) and the MDT, so we thought that we should have been consulted but nevertheless, the chief architect of foreign policy is the President, the buck stops with him, so be it,” Sotto said. 

‘Shabby treatment’

At the House, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the President considered in his decision on the VFA the country’s “shabby” treatment from an ally and not just the country’s military interests.

“From day one, the President has been talking about an uneven relationship, about shabby treatment. President Duterte is right in calling for our own armed forces to grow and develop,” the Taguig congressman declared.

“Should we not take on the responsibility of defending our own nation and our people? Is the US ready to stand by its most loyal ally, or will its interest dictate neutrality at a time when ours need them to be firmly and unequivocally by our side?” he asked.

Cayetano, whose mother is an American, also took a swipe at Duterte’s detractors who want to keep the military pact with Washington, despite the latter’s supposed neglect of its Asian “brother.”

“To the critics, if we cannot find fault with the US government for always putting America first, then why take it against the President of the Philippines for taking a stand for his own country and people?” he said.

“We are in fact fortunate that we have a President who has fully committed the government to this goal without fear or favor towards any nation. As we reflect on the President’s decision, we have to be better informed. We cannot judge without all the facts,” he added.

“As a people we also need to see and understand the Visiting Forces Agreement for what it is. It is a product of a much different time, when the lines of national interests were simpler,” he said.

End of MDT, EDCA

For former foreign affairs chief Albert del Rosario, the scrapping of the VFW would spell the doom for MDT and EDCA.

“This continuing shift in foreign policy casting aside a long-time reliable ally in favor of an aggressive neighbor that has been blatantly demonstrating its lack of respect for international law is incomprehensible and harmful to our country and our people,” Del Rosario said in a statement, apparently referring to China  -With Elizabeth Marcelo, Delon Porcalla, Mayen Jaymalin