Gordon: Using VFA as leverage for vaccine 'mercenary, lowers dignity of the Philippines'
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte's threat to junk the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States unless it sends doses of the COVID-19 vaccine is not sitting well with some lawmakers as the Palace sought to defend the move on Monday.
The Senate concurred with the ratification of the VFA in 1999 and the announcement earlier this year that it would be terminated prompted debate in the upper chamber, with some saying it should have a say on whether or not to junk the agreement.
The senators' remarks on Duterte's threat came as pressure mounts on the administration to secure doses amid a global race for vaccines against the the virus that has infected 470,000 in the Philippines and caused more than 9,000 deaths.
Tensions had also recently escalated after talks with the US drugmaker Pfizer for 10 million doses broke down after Health Secretary Francisco Duque III allegedly "dropped the ball." Duque has rejected the allegation, saying he had only been cautious in signing the confidential disclosure agreement with Pfizer that was initially supposed to be signed by the Department of Science and Technology.
Senators have since reacted to Duterte's latest pronouncement, warning that such could only bring repercussions.
"National interest must be the only consideration for a VFA," Sen. Richard Gordon wrote on Twitter. "'No vaccine, no VFA' threat upon the US is totally inappropriate, mercenary and lessens the dignity of the Philippines."
Sen. Panfilo Lacson earlier Monday said that "treating the Americans like a bunch of yokels" may leave the Philippines with no choice but to settle for the Chinese-made Sinovac and its efficacy rate of 50%.
"Such a pronouncement from the president is at the very least, unfortunate," the Senate defense committee chairman said. "I think there could be a more diplomatic or at least a better way of asking a longtime ally to help us avail of the vaccines for our people without sounding like we are blackmailing our way into it."
The president in February announced that he was pulling the Philippines out of the decades-long VFA with the US after Washington cancelled the visa of his ex-police chief and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa over his role in the "drug war" that has killed thousands.
In June, as the country grappled with the coronavirus pandemic and China continued activities in the West Philippine Sea, the administration said it was suspending the abrogation of the treaty. That suspension was extended for another six months in November.
Palace: Not blackmail but independent foreign policy
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in a briefing Monday denied that Duterte's threat is blackmail but is part of an "independent foreign policy" that has seen the Philippines foster ties with non-traditional allies like China and Russia.
"The president remains as the chief architect of our foreign policy, so we can't deprive him to make that decision," Roque said in Filipino. "There is nothing wrong with that...this only shows that we won't be beholden to or be dictated upon by others."
He had went as far as speculating that Duterte granted pardon to US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton for the 2014 murder of transgender woman Jennifer Laude as a bargaining chip to secure vaccines from the US.
"Perhaps that was not enough to secure us doses hence my opinion is the president had to bring out the cancellation of the VFA," said Roque, a former lawyer of the Laude family.
The VFA, which governs the status and treatment of US soldiers in the Philippines and allows them to hold military exercises and provide technical assistance to security personnel, has been criticized in the past for allowing foreign troops in the country and for keeping the Philippines dependent on the US.
Threat made 'out of frustration'
The Philippines has so far secured only 2.6 million doses from the British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca through a donation from the private sector.
Criticism had surfaced that the administration was late in entering talks for securing vaccines. Indonesia, which has also been hit hard by the pandemic, has already secured 350 million doses.
In a radio interview over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Duterte's remarks may have been from his frustration that Western firms were asking for advanced payment, which the president only allowed in November.
Still, he sought to appeal to the coronavirus task force to choose the vaccine "that is effective yet cost-effective," after Sinovac was hit as only "pasang awa (barely passed)".
The Senate in January will hold a probe into the government's vaccination program, with members of the chamber airing questions ranging from the administration's preference to how it will carry out its promise of inoculating 24.7 million Filipinos early next year. — Christian Deiparine with reports from Jonathan de Santos
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