Senate to recommend VFA ‘review,’ not termination — Sotto
MANILA, Philippines — Senate will recommend the review of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and United States, saying the Philippine government should not scrap the VFA, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Saturday.
“Ang sense ng Senado wag natin basta putulin ang VFA, siguro review… parang recommendation lang sa Presidente. [The sense of the Senate is that we should not just terminate the VFA. We should review it first. It is our recommendation to the President.],” Sotto told DWIZ when asked about the Senate’s opinion on the termination of the VFA, which was implemented in 1999.
Sotto said their recommendation will take the form of a resolution that is expected to be filed on Monday. Sotto said Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senator Koko Pimentel, will help him draft the resolution.
The Senate President said their recommendation could help President Rodrigo Duterte decide on the scrapping of the VFA or it may also be just “taken with a grain of salt.”
The President earlier warned that he would terminate the VFA unilaterally unless the United States “corrected” its cancellation of the U.S. visa of Senator, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
The VFA states the terms and conditions on the visit of U.S. military forces for military exercises in the Philippines.
