Despite AFP denial, Palace says Duterte has sources on US arms depot claim

From the Philippine Star (Jan 31): Despite AFP denial, Palace says Duterte has sources on US arms depot claim



Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the president may have other sources of information regarding the claim that the US is building an arms depot in the country. US Navy/Scott Barnes/Released, File

Malacañang insisted Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that the US is building an arms depot in the Philippines has basis after the military said it has not received any report about such activity.

Duterte revealed last Sunday that US troops seem to be constructing a depot in the country and are unloading arms in Palawan, Cagayan de Oro and Pampanga.

He said the US military should stop these activities or he would consider reviewing or even abrogating the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The president also claimed that the US is “egging the Philippines to force the issue of the arbitral judgment,” which invalidated China’s maritime claim in the South China Sea. He stressed he would not allow the US to drag the Philippines into a conflict with China.

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Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said there was no confirmed incident indicating that the US is really building a depot in the country. The US Embassy in Manila has also denied the president’s allegations.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, however, said the president may have other sources of information.

“If your question is where he got the information, I cannot tell you that. But he seems to be privy to some sort of information,” he said in a press briefing in Malacañang Tuesday.

He did not elaborate on the basis of the president’s claim.

Abella made the statement after journalists pointed out that Duterte categorically claimed that American troopers are unloading arms and making some parts of the country their warehouse or depots.

Abella initially claimed that Duterte was just saying that he would not allow any downloading of arms and building of depots and other permanent structures that are not allowed under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The EDCA, which was signed by the Philippines and the US in 2014, provides American troops access to some military bases in the country.

“If you check the context of his statements, it was that, that he was saying that he would not allow it if it were to happen,” Abella said.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/31/1667852/despite-afp-denial-palace-says-duterte-has-sources-us-arms-depot-claim