DU30 can scrap VFA anytime – Roque

MANILA – The Malacañang said President Rodrigo Duterte can scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) anytime and does not need the concurrence of the Senate.

 “Ang Presidente ay pupuwede pong bumitaw sa VFA kahit kailan po,” Roque said over PTV-4 on Wednesday. He also said that the Supreme Court does not issue a temporary restraining order to stop the President’s move to scrap the VFA before.

In his recent statement, Lacson said Duterte should have taken a more diplomatic way to retain the VFA which the president answered that the former “have nothing to do with this.” The senator then urged Duterte to read the 1987 Constitution.

Hindi lang po binasa ng ating Presidente ang Saligang Batas, abogado pa po siya. Pumasa po siyang Bar, kung saan isa po sa tinanong o subject area para sa examination ay ang Constitutional Law,” Roque said, adding that the VFA is not a treaty and does not fall under the Section 21 of Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution.

Ang VFA po ay pagpapatupad lamang ng isang tratado at ang tratado na pinapatupad ng VFA ay ang Mutual Defense Treaty,” he added, pertaining to the 1951 deal that boosted the defense and security cooperation between the Philippines and the US.

The Philippines, upon Duterte’s order, formally terminated the VFA on Feb. 11, 2020.

It was supposed to take effect in August last year but the country on June 1, put the termination on hold for six months due to “political and other developments in the region.”/PN

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