Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / JOAN BONDOC
MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr. has not received the order to officially inform the United States that the Philippines will abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which permits American troops to conduct military exercises in the Philippines, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Saturday.
“This is fake news. Sec Locsin has not been [ordered] yet,” Lorenzana told reporters when asked about his reaction to President Rodrigo Duterte’s reported directive to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea that Locsin should notify the US on the VFA termination.
Lorenzana said it was Medialdea himself who notified him that no order from Duterte has been issued yet.
“Yes, according to Sec Medialdea! None. Nada. Zilch. Awan. Wala! Anggapo,” Lorenzana said.
Duterte previously threatened to scrap the agreement after the revocation of the US visa of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, former chief of the nation’s police force who led the government’s drug war.