Palace glad over US move on Bato’s visa

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang welcomed yesterday the assurance of the United States government to “fix the problem” on the cancelled visa of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa after President Duterte talked with US President Donald Trump over the phone recently.

Dela Rosa said the US embassy in Manila called him regarding his visa and asked that he set an appointment so this could be processed once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

He was chief of the Philippine National Police when the number of so-called extrajudicial killings in relation to illegal drugs was on the rise.

Last January, Duterte made a fuss over the US government’s decision to cancel the senator’s visa, asking them to rectify their move or he would abrogate the two-decade old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte’s decision to abrogate the VFA remains, even after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced the suspension of VFA termination in light of the pandemic and the heightened tensions among superpowers, possibly referring to the US and China.

Roque said there is no change yet on Duterte’s stand to delay the termination of the proceedings for VFA for six months.

“US President Trump called President Duterte, I also received a text if I can receive a call, then introduced himself that he’s from the US embassy and informed me I can process my US visa,” Dela Rosa told reporters during an interview over Zoom.

“We can only surmise that I might have been a beneficiary in the changes in foreign policy. The President did not say that the VFA will be honored again if I could have my visa back. But he said he was mad at the visa revocation. It might be because of the changes in the situation in the West Philippine Sea, relationship with China and other factors that were considered in President Trump and President Duterte’s talk,” he added.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he also learned from Duterte that Trump did not agree with the revocation of Dela Rosa’s visa.

“When I met with the President a few weeks ago, I was with Sen. Bong Go and other executives, he just got off the phone with President Trump, and the word used was the US State Department should not have done. That’s why I was not surprised because President Trump doesn’t agree with what happened,” said Sotto.

Although disappointed over the visa revocation, Dela Rosa said he is happy that the US embassy called him, adding that he did not pull strings. Cecille Suerte Felipe