DESPITE critics lamenting the termination of the two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), United States President Donald Trump brushed off the Duterte administration’s decision by saying it would help the U.S. save “a lot of money.”
A day after the Philippines notified the U.S. that it would end the military agreement, the U.S. president on Wednesday, February 12 said that “I never minded that very much, to be honest. We helped the Philippines very much…That’s fine, we’ll save a lot of money.”
Malacañang announced on Tuesday, February 11 that the Philippines has formally sent a notice terminating the VFA with the U.S.
Duterte ordered the termination after the U.S. canceled the visa of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who spearheaded Duterte’s war on drugs during his stint as police chief.
The VFA, which came into force in 1999, covers the conduct of U.S. soldiers in the Philippines. It can be terminated through a written notice from either of the countries, taking effect 180 days after the notification.
Among the provisions of the deal include lax visa and passport policies for U.S. troops, and the rights of the U.S. government to retain its jurisdiction over its military personnel when they commit crimes in the Philippines.
Malacañang said that it respects Trump’s reaction.
“We can understand. Again, as I said, when you do something that is unsatisfactory to the other side, natural lang iyon na may sasabihin sila (It’s natural for them to say something),” said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Thursday, February 13, during an interview with DZBB radio.
Panelo said that “maybe [Duterte] agrees with the position of the president that it is time that we stand on our own resources and defend our country from enemies of the state by ourselves.”
And while Trump stressed his “good relationship” with Duterte, Panelo noted that it remains to be seen how his statement would match the actions of the U.S. government.
“As I said, words are less louder than actions,” he said.
The U.S. president also argued, “But if you look back, if you go back three years ago, when ISIS was overrunning the Philippines, we came in and literally single-handedly were able to save them from vicious attacks on their islands.”
However, an Associated Press report fact-checked Trump’s statement, saying that defeating ISIS in the Philippines back in 2017 was not a solo U.S. military effort and that there is no evidence that “even a few Americans took part in actual combat in the past decades.”
“Having U.S. troops in combat would breach the Philippine constitution and be opposed by the Philippine government, its military and defense leaders, nationalists and left-wing groups,” Jim Gomez of the AP wrote.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary said the Duterte administration’s move was “unfortunate,” as the termination comes at a time when the U.S. and its allies are pushing China to abide by international norms.
“As we try to bolster our presence and compete with (China) in this era of great-power competition, I think it’s a move in the wrong direction, again for the long-standing relationship we’ve had with the Philippines, for their strategic location, for the ties between our peoples and our countries,” the defense chief told reporters on Wednesday, February 12.
