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President Rodrigo Duterte is standing firm on his decision to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement and would not change even as some senators asked the Supreme Court to compel him to seek Senate concurrence in terminating the key military pact with the United States.
“They cannot compel me. I refused to be compelled. I have terminated it. I don’t have any problem with that. As far as I’m concern we’re beginning to count the 180 days for them to pack up and go. I am not reneging on the VFA and I’m not going to America to discuss it with anybody,” Duterte told reporters in a press briefing in Malacañang.
Duterte, who earlier ordered Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to send word to the US that he was terminating the VFA, said he had rid himself of his problem with the military deal by withdrawing from it.
“I am not reneging on the VFA and I am not going to America to discuss this with anybody though I respect highly of Trump. And if that was a political move by the senators to win the Filipino votes there, I’m telling the Filipino now, you are getting the best of deal with Trump. Kayo diyan sa—leftist ang ano eh—Obama was a leftist,” the President said.
Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President will not entertain any initiative coming from the US government to salvage the VFA, neither will he accept any official invitation to visit the US.
“All these actions are anchored on the policy of the President to chart an independent foreign policy with our foreign relations with other states being based on national interests and general welfare,” he said.
“Aside from the inequities brought about by the provisions found in the VFA, the decision of the President to cause the termination of the agreement is a consequence of a series of legislative and executive actions by the US government that bordered on assaulting our sovereignty and disrespecting our judicial system,” Panelo said.
In the press briefing, Duterte said that one of the reasons why he wanted to terminate the VFA is because the US continues to meddle into the internal affairs of the Philippines.
The President expressed his frustration after an International Human Rights group accused his administration of committing human rights violations by summarily executing suspected drug pushers and users which the Philippine police strongly denied.
The Chief Executive even urged Filipinos in living in the United States to vote for “Trump.”
“Bumoto kayo kay Trump. And they say that I am interfering, of course I am interfering. Tell that to the Americans that Duterte is insisting in interfering.
“Do you know why I’m interfering? Can anybody answer my question? Because they are the ones that started it all.—extrajudicial killing, 70,000. Where did they get 0,000? Na mag-head count kami doon sa… Kung may mamatay diyan na binaril, extrajudicial killing,” he said.
Criminality in the country was its lowest because of the fight against illegal drugs, he said.
“I have returned the streets to the people. Kasi ‘yang public places are intended for law abiding citizens. And if it begins na hindi na makauwi ang mga bata, takot na, and they are nervous especially the working girls mga salesgirl diyan sa mga mall,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III has vowed to always protect the independence of the Senate even at the risk of losing alliances and support from the administration.
A day after leading his colleagues in challenging the unilateral abrogation of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement, Sotto reiterated his commitment to always put a premium on public welfare and the interests of the Senate over his personal concerns.
The Senate on Monday formally asked the Supreme Court to draw the constitutional boundaries on the roles of the Senate and the executive branch in the cancellation of international agreements and treaties, taking off from the recent termination of the VFA which Malacañang did without getting the approval of the Senate.
Sotto said the legal move was meant to “assert the sense of the power of the Senate that we know and we think that we have.”
He insisted that senators must be consulted on vital matters like the termination of international agreements and treaties just as it’s concurrence is required before the same are ratified.
“This role is particularly important to ensure that the power to forge partnerships with our neighbors and allies remains impartial. The Senate must do its part in protecting the checks and balances in our government,” Sotto said.
The Senate President set aside concerns that he could lose his alliance with Malacañang because of the Senate action.
“Personal interests should never outweigh public welfare. I will always choose to fight for the independence of the Senate. That is the legacy that I would like to leave this institution when my term comes to an end,” Sotto said.
In a 56-page petition for declaratory relief and mandamus, Sotto, along with Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon asked the SC to declare that a treaty previously concurred in by the Senate should require the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the members Senate upon its withdrawal.
Named respondents in the petition were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
The senators requested the SC to order the executive branch to send the withdrawal notation to the Senate for votation.
The petition was filed after the DFA, on Feb. 11, 2020, sent a Notice of Withdrawal of the VFA to the US Embassy. According to Article IX of the Visiting Forces Agreement, the withdrawal shall take effect within 180 days from the receipt of the Notice of Withdrawal.
“As such, the Senate has until August 9, 2020 or the 180th day from the Notice of Withdrawal within which to question the unilateral withdrawal by the President from the VFA,” the petition stated.
President Duterte pulled out of the accord after Washington canceled the visa of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa.
“[The] Senate brings the present petition before the Honorable Court to fully and finally settle the issue of the requirement for concurrence by at least two-thirds of all members of the Senate in cases where the Philippines, through the executive department, decides to withdraw from, or terminate a treaty that was duly concurred in by the Senate,” the petition stated.
The senators, however, clarified that they do not intend to undermine the President’s prerogative of implementing the country’s independent foreign policy. The petition merely seeks to subject the notice of withdrawal to the proper deliberative process by the Senate, as required by Section 21, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution.
"Specifically, the petition seeks to address the issue of whether the foregoing constitutional provision requiring the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate also applies to termination of or withdrawing from treaties that have been validly ratified by the President and concurred in by the Senate,” the senators said.
They cited the petition filed by members of the Senate minority bloc in May 2018, which asked the SC to review the constitutionality of the executive department’s unilateral revocation of the Rome Statute.
“The recurrence of the issue in such a short period of time highlights the urgency for a definitive ruling on the matter for the demarcation and constitutional limits of the fundamental powers of government,” the senators said.
“The unilateral revocation by the executive of any treaty or international agreement without Senate concurrence violates the principle of checks and balances and separation of powers enshrined in the 1987 Constitution,” they added.
Last week, 12 senators voted to adopt Resolution No. 337 asking the SC to rule on whether or not the concurrence of the Senate is necessary in the abrogation of a treaty or international agreement.
Seven senators abstained from the petition. They were Senators Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Imee Marcos, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Bong Revilla, Francis “Tol” Tolentino, Cynthia Villar and Dela Rosa.