Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday shut the door on the revival of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, saying there are other ways “to give muscle” to the existing Mutual Defense Treaty between the Manila and Washington.
Under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, the Philippines and the US commit to come to each other’s aid in case of an armed attack by a foreign aggressor.
“We are never going back to the Visiting Forces Agreement but there are other enduring-predictable not just ad hoc- ways of cooperation to give muscle memory to the Mutual Defense Treaty without which we would be an Oriental slave state,” Locsin said in his Twitter account.
According to Locsin, one of the ways is for Washington to provide more armaments to Manila to equip the country’s armed forces.
“Arming us to hold up to our end of the Mutual Defense Treaty is one,” he said.
Last year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated the pledge to come to the aid of the Philippines amid growing concern over the aggressive activities of China in the West Philippine Sea which includes the construction of military facilities in seven artificial islands, including three inside the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
The Philippines considers the VFA as a treaty, similar to the MDT, but Washington considers it and subsidiary agreements like the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement of 2014, as executive agreements.
On the other hand, EDCA allows the US to send troops to the country for extended stays and allows Washington to build and operate facilities on Philippine bases, for both US and Filipino forces, but not permanently.
Despite the recommendation of the Cabinet cluster on peace, justice and security to just re-negotiate the VFA, President Duterte has remained adamant on his decision to terminate the agreement. Rey E. Requejo
The President first announced his decision last February after the US cancelled the visa of his long-time confidant Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who also led his bloody war on drugs during his stint as national police chief.
Last March, senators led by Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto filed a petition for declaratory relief and mandamus before the Supreme Court asking the magistrates to issue an order to compel the respondents-Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and o Locsin to course the notice of withdrawal of the VFA to the Senate.
Duterte was not named as a respondent to the case.
The senators also asked the SC to render a decision that withdrawal or termination of a treaty or international agreement earlier concurred to by the Senate also requires the concurrence of two thirds of its members before a withdrawal or termination.
A declaratory relief means the petitioners want the SC to clarify issues or questions about the law while a mandamus seeks to compel the respondents to act or do something.
The SC has yet to rule on the petition.