Cayetano urges public to trust Duterte's VFA position

By Filane Mikee Cervantes

February 17, 2021, 7:55 pm

<p>Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano <em>(File photo)</em></p>

Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (File photo)

MANILA – Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday urged the public to trust President Rodrigo Duterte’s handling of the Philippines’ Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.

In an interview, Cayetano said Duterte has the best interest of the Philippines at heart when he said the US government must pay for the continuation of the agreement.

“Huwag nating i-judge ang Pangulo (Let’s not judge the President), the way he says it. Actually, many Presidents have said the same thing, that if you (United States) want to be in the Philippines, what’s in it for us?” Cayetano said.

Duterte has earlier said the US has to “pay” first before he reconsiders his decision to scrap the VFA.

The US should give the Philippines something in return, especially since the latter is the “nearest, possible and convenient outpost,” Duterte said.

“You want the Visiting Forces Agreement done? Well, you have to pay. It’s a shared responsibility. But your share of responsibility does not come free because after all when the war breaks out, we all pay. We’re nearest to the garrison there, a lot of arsenals of the Chinese armed forces… I hope that the Americans would take notice of that,” he said.

Cayetano said the people should expect that any President would place the interest of the country “front and center.”

Ang sinasabi lang naman n’ya (All he’s saying is) if the US has an interest here and wants their troops trained here… paano naman ‘yung Pilipino (how about the Filipino people)?” he said.

Cayetano also told the public to trust the country’s diplomats in handling negotiations on the VFA.

“Ang mga diplomats, may marching orders na ‘yan (Our diplomats have their marching orders). I’m sure that we can get the best deal for the Filipino people basta bigyan natin ng full support ang mga diplomats natin (just give our diplomats our full support),” he said.

The VFA is a 1998 military pact that allows US troops who will participate in joint exercises with Filipino soldiers to visit the Philippines sans visa and passport.

The Philippines, upon Duterte’s order, formally terminated the defense deal with the US on Feb. 11 last year.

In March last year, senators sought clarification from the Supreme Court about their role in the cancellation of treaties.

The VFA was supposed to be effectively scrapped in August last year, but the Philippines on June 1 the same year put the termination on hold for six months due to “political and other developments in the region.” (PNA)


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