Duterte says he wants to ‘hear from people’ about what to do with VFA

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday that he wanted to “hear from the people” about what he should do with the Philippine Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States.

Duterte said he “has not yet decided what to do, that is, repeal or renew” the VFA, which allows the presence of US military forces in the Philippines as visitors. Earlier this month, the president told Washington to “pay,” without specifying what, if he wanted to keep the pact.

“I want to listen to the people. I want the narratives to emerge … limited Hindi dito sa (not limited to) Congress. Ang commonong mamamayan can have a voice,” Duterte said in a televised speech.

Through the government complaint hotline 8888, the public can “enter their objections or any comments they think could help the country.”

US military aid to the Philippines amounts to “loose change” compared to other Asian countries, Duterte spokesman Harry Roque previously said.

He cited a study by the Washington-based Stimson Center that showed the Philippines received $ 3.9 billion in counterterrorism support from the United States between 2002 and 2017, compared to $ 16.4 billion from Pakistan during the same period.

“Pakistan received $ 16 billion. We think we should get something similar or close to that amount, but definitely not the amount that we are currently getting, ”Palace spokesman said.

“For now, what the president wants is that if you want to continue using our territory, we want fair compensation, not coins, not rotten equipment. Those teams that came, we bought them, he didn’t give them to them, ”added Roque.

(We want fair compensation for it, not loose change, not obsolete equipment. The equipment that just arrived, we bought; they did not give it to us).

Duterte unilaterally canceled the two-decade VFA last year, in an angry response to an ally who was denied a visa. However, the withdrawal period has been extended twice to create what Philippine officials have said is a window for better terms to be agreed.

Ahead of Duterte’s demand for payment, officials from the Philippines and the United States met this week to resolve disputes over the two-decade-old VFA. The meeting is the first under the administration of US President Joe Biden, who has reaffirmed the alliance in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Beijing has refused to acknowledge a ruling that dismissed its broad claims on the resource-rich waterway, including parts of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Duterte said he was “walking a tightrope” and that “he cannot afford to be brave in the mouth against China because we are avoiding any confrontation … leading to something that we can hardly afford, at least at this time. “.

Duterte said he was a “friend” to both China and the United States.

“But what I don’t like is iyong for kang bata na that they promise you, ganoon iyan e, magpunta iyong mga top brass nila (that’s right, their top brass go here). This group will promise you, and once they take it out They are completely forgotten, “he said.

Ties between the United States and his former colony have been complicated by Duterte’s rise to power in 2016 and his frequent statements condemning US foreign policy and his open embrace of China.

But while the relationship between the Philippines and the United States “has always been strong,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the country “should not have to choose” between Washington and Beijing.

Lorenzana has also raised concerns about a new Chinese law authorizing the Coast Guard to fire on what it sees as threats, and repeated US navy patrols that China sees as provocations.

– With a Reuters report

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