Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete. (File photo)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed its impact assessment report on the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippine and the United States to Malacañang on Thursday.
“The report has been submitted,” DOJ Undersecretary and spokesperson Markk Perete told reporters Friday.
Perete said it is now up to the Office of the President "to reveal its contents".
He added that the document also contained inputs from the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“The DOJ only tackled the legal matters concerning the VFA termination,” he said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra met with the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces (PCVF) and the Cabinet cluster on security, justice, and peace on January 31 and February 3.
The DOJ report initially answered such questions as: 'Is the VFA a treaty or an executive agreement?'; 'If it is a treaty, is Senate concurrence required for termination?'; 'Who will give the notice of termination?' (and), 'Is it necessary to state any ground for termination?"
Late in January, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered to start the process of termination of the VFA following the cancelation of the US visa of retired national police chief and now Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, who used to be one of those who implemented the government's anti-drug campaign.
Duterte earlier warned the US government that he will scrap the agreement if the cancelation of the visa of dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, is not rectified within a month.
Signed by the Philippines and the US in 1998, the VFA is an executive agreement that stipulates how visiting American troops should be treated in the Philippines.
Aside from exempting US forces from passport and visa regulations, the agreement also states that their permits and licenses are also deemed valid in the Philippines. The same policy also applies to Filipino troops in US military installations.
It also allows Washington DC to retain jurisdiction over US personnel accused of crimes committed in the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1093267
“The report has been submitted,” DOJ Undersecretary and spokesperson Markk Perete told reporters Friday.
Perete said it is now up to the Office of the President "to reveal its contents".
He added that the document also contained inputs from the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“The DOJ only tackled the legal matters concerning the VFA termination,” he said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra met with the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces (PCVF) and the Cabinet cluster on security, justice, and peace on January 31 and February 3.
The DOJ report initially answered such questions as: 'Is the VFA a treaty or an executive agreement?'; 'If it is a treaty, is Senate concurrence required for termination?'; 'Who will give the notice of termination?' (and), 'Is it necessary to state any ground for termination?"
Late in January, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered to start the process of termination of the VFA following the cancelation of the US visa of retired national police chief and now Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, who used to be one of those who implemented the government's anti-drug campaign.
Duterte earlier warned the US government that he will scrap the agreement if the cancelation of the visa of dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, is not rectified within a month.
Signed by the Philippines and the US in 1998, the VFA is an executive agreement that stipulates how visiting American troops should be treated in the Philippines.
Aside from exempting US forces from passport and visa regulations, the agreement also states that their permits and licenses are also deemed valid in the Philippines. The same policy also applies to Filipino troops in US military installations.
It also allows Washington DC to retain jurisdiction over US personnel accused of crimes committed in the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1093267
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