The United States government said Sunday it will still work with President Rodrigo Duterte to address any concerns after he threatened to terminate a pact that allows US troops to visit the Philippines.
US flag and President Rodrigo Duterte
The US Embassy in Manila said Washington will work closely with the Duterte administration to address any concerns it may have. It did not elaborate.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but spokesman Josh Earnest had said previously that the White House would not react publicly each time Duterte made an offhand remark.
Malacanang clarified that the President was just making a warning when he said that he would abrogate the VFA, according to Asst. Secretary Ana Marie Banaag.
President Duterte was enraged after a US government aid agency deferred a vote on a renewal of a major development assistance package for the Philippines over concerns about extrajudicial killings in Duterte’s war on illegal drug, which has left thousands dead.
Although no decision on the aid package has been taken, Duterte on Saturday launched an expletives-laden tirade, telling the US to “prepare to leave the Philippines, prepare for the eventual repeal or the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).’’
He was referring to a 1998 accord that governs American forces visiting the Philippines for joint combat exercises. The pact has helped the Philippines contain a violent Muslim insurgency in the south and train and equip Filipino forces facing an assertive China in disputed South China Sea waters.
“You know, tit for tat … if you can do this, so (can) we. It isn’t a one-way traffic,’’ Duterte said, adding, “Bye-bye America.’’
The 71-year-old Duterte, who describes himself as a left-wing politician, has made similar threats before and after taking office in June, but he and his officials have walked back on many of his public statements, causing confusion.
Duterte on Saturday praised China as having “the kindest soul of all’’ for offering what he said was significant financial assistance. “So, what do I need America for?’’ he asked.
He also said Russia can be a very important ally. “They do not insult people, they do not interfere,’’ he said.
The Philippines had been slated for another aid package after its previous five-year, $434-million poverty reduction program was successfully completed in May under Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.
A spokeswoman for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Laura Allen, said Thursday that it would continue to monitor events in the Philippines before the next board review in March, 2017.
‘Double loss’
Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, vice chairman of the House Committee on Defense and National Security, strongly urged President Duterte to consult his close advisers as well as the leaders of Congress before he decides to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.
Believing that scrapping the VFA is a “double loss” for the Philippines, Biazon cited the need for the Chief Executive to consult the leaders of Congress, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana before scrapping the VFA, which was signed in 1998.
“The statement of the President should be based on a consultation within the country’s security sector, which means he should have consulted his national security advisers because it has huge implication in our country’s defense security,” he said in a radio interview.
He asked President Duterte to think twice before abrogating the VFA because it might affect the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program and given the remaining territorial spat with China.
He also warned the President against befriending China because such gesture might give the economic giant courage to “further exploit” the disputed areas.
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